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Broadside ballad entitled 'Scots Callan O' Bonnie Dundee' |
CommentaryVerse 1: 'O, whaur gat ye that bonnie blue bonnet, / O, silly, blind body, canna' ye see; / I gat it frae a bonny Scots callan', / 'Atween Saint Johnstone and bonny Dundee.' 'Callan' or 'callant' is Scots for a 'young man' or a 'lad'. A note under the title informs the reader that new songs are issued every week and can be bought from the Poet's Box. A list of other available songs, including 'A Happy New-Year tae ye a'' and 'Birks o' Green Balgay', is given at the bottom of the sheet. Unfortunately, there appears to be little known about the Poet's Boxes that sprang up in most of the major Scottish towns, including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. Although they printed and distributed in a similar way to many other broadside producers, they also published material upon request. This provided impecunious writers with the opportunity to have their work published cheaply. It is not clear what the connection between the different Poet?s Boxes were. They almost certainly sold each other?s sheets. It is known that John Sanderson in Edinburgh often wrote to the Leitches in Glasgow for songs and that later his brother Charles obtained copies of songs from the Dundee Poet?s Box. There was also a Poet?s Box in Belfast from 1846 to 1856 at the address of the printer James Moore, and one at Paisley in the early 1850s, owned by William Anderson. Early ballads were dramatic or humorous narrative songs derived from folk culture that predated printing. Originally perpetuated by word of mouth, many ballads survive because they were recorded on broadsides. Musical notation was rarely printed, as tunes were usually established favourites. The term 'ballad' eventually applied more broadly to any kind of topical or popular verse.
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Probable period of publication:
1880-1900 shelfmark: L.C.Fol.70(119b)
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