Broadside ballad entitled 'Bully Stot'

Commentary

This ballad begins: 'Bully Stot can blend a lance, / Imitate the folk o' France, / Cares no a birse for Queen or law, / Fain wad whuff our Kirk awa'. The chorus begins: 'Bully Stot's i' the jail, / Bully Stot's i' the jail'. It was published by Sanderson of Edinburgh and probably sold for one penny.

A large number of broadsides assumed a certain degree of knowledge amongst their readership and, as a result, gave little or no contextual information. Although this often makes it difficult for a modern-day audience to identify the characters and incidents described, they were usually familiar to the readers of the day. This is most certainly the case with the ballad of 'Bully Stot'.

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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