Broadside ballad entitled 'The Tinker's Wedding'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: ' In June, when broom an' bloom was seen, / An' brackens waved fu' fresh an' green.'

Broadside songs are often anonymous and difficult to date, mainly because they are based in the oral, communal tradition. This song is no exception. Its themes of rural Scotland, marriage and a wedding feast would have been instantly recognisable to most people. The chorus is also a meaningless but tuneful and repetitive ditty which is a feature of songs from the oral tradition. This made them easier to remember and allowed for greater audience participation.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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