Commentary
This ballad begins: ?Sin? my uncle?s dead, I?ve lads anew / Wha? ne?er cam here before to woo / But to the laddie, I?ll prove true / that lo?ed me first O ony o?. This is a ballad about a girl who is faithful to her humble ?Johnny? and who spurns the advances of the local laird. 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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