Broadside ballads entitled 'Bonny Wood o' Craigielee' and 'Row Weel, My Boatie'

Commentary

The first ballad begins: 'Thou bonny wood o' Craigielee, / Thou bonny wood o' Craigielee'. A woodcut showing three men searching in a tree has been included at the top of the sheet.

The second ballad begins: 'Row well, my boatie, row weel, / Row weel my merry men a'!' A woodcut of two well wrapped up men in a boat, at what appears to be night, has been included above the title.

Both poems refer to rural and traditional vocations but this appears to be their only connection. This, however, would probably have mattered little to the target market. The idea would have been that two songs on a sheet, for the same cost, was better value for money. This no doubt, coupled with two illustrations, would have been this sheet's strongest marketing feature.

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