Broadside ballads entitled 'The Cow and the Parson!' and 'The Star of Glengary'

Commentary

'The Cow and the Parson!' begins: ''Twas near ____ town as stories go, - / (I can't say whether true or no;) / There lived a swain of low degree, / Yet with contentment bless'd and free'. 'The Star of Glengary' begins: 'The red moon is up on the moss-covered mountain, / The hour is at hand when I promised to rove'. The sheet carries no publication details.

'The Cow and the Parson' is a satirical ballad about Jem, an innocent young man who loses his cow and climbs a tree to look for it. From the tree he sees a parson seducing a young woman. The parson, on discovering that he has been spotted, buys Jem's silence with a purse full of gold. 'The Star of Glengary' is quite different in tone. It is a romantic, sentimental tribute from a husband to his wife of many years.

This broadside was probably sold for a penny or a penny and a half. The inclusion of two ballads, and a woodcut illustration, would probably have led to it being considered very good value at the time of its publication. Broadsides usually contained only one song or story and often featured little or no decoration.

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