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Broadside ballads entitled 'The Slippy Stane', 'The Scotch Brigade', 'Somewhere the Sun is Shining', 'Nancy Whisky', and 'The Nameless Lassie' |
CommentaryThe first ballad begins: 'Wade canny through this weary world'. The second ballad begins: 'On the banks of the Clyde stood a lad and his lassie'. The third ballad begins: 'Somewhere in the world the moon is shining'. The fourth ballad begins: 'This seven long years I've been a weaver'. The fifth ballad begins: 'There's nane may ever guess or trow my bonnie lassie's name'. This sheet was published by the Poet's Box of the Overgate, Dundee, and includes a small illustration of a young girl holding up the edge of her skirt and curtseying. It is unusual to find five songs appearing on one broadside. Whilst it was reasonably common for two ballads to appear together, the majority of sheets only featured one ballad. The Dundee Poet's Box appears to have realised the attraction of the larger sheets and continued to produce them in significant quantities. Although it is not clear how much they sold for, the broadside-buying public probably believed the larger sheets were good value for money. 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: RB.m.143(125)
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