The Beggar-Laddie is a traditional English
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
existing in several variants. It was collected by
Francis James Child
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of ...
as
Child ballad 280 (
Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
119
[Se]
here
).
Synopsis
A man tells a woman that he is a beggar, making his living from spindles or similar items. She loves him and follows him. After a time, she finds it very hard, but then he takes her on to his father's hall, or sometimes his brother's. His brothers express envy of his bride, and she gains a husband of high birth.
First editions
The first known record, probably, dates from 1805; it was included in the ''Old Lady's Collection''. Other early versions were collected in the D. Kinloch's MS and C. Motherwell's
MS (both written before 1850). The first publication of the song could be found in
Christie's ''Traditional Ballad Airs'' (1876, I).
See also
*
The Jolly Beggar
*
Dugall Quin
*
Lizie Lindsay
*
Glasgow Peggie
*
Bonny Lizie Baillie
References
External links
''The Beggar-Laddie''
Child Ballads
Year of song unknown
Songwriter unknown
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