Broadside ballad entitled 'The Strifeling Cavalry. A New Song'

Commentary

This ballad begins: 'Our Yeoman are on an' awa, brave boys, / Our Yeoman are on an' awa'. This sheet was published by Webster of Horse Wynd, Edinburgh.

The 'Webster' mentioned here is most probably David Webster, a printer and bookseller, who worked out of Horse Wynd between 1817 and 1823. The ballad itself is followed by a publisher's note which claims that the lyrics are based on a Jacobite song, 'O Kenmure is on an' awa, Willie', but have been given a loyalist twist. Webster in his note, however, then goes on the make fun and satirise the Hanoverian lines.

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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