Broadside ballad entitled 'Buudle [Bundle] an' Go'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'Clyde's bonny hills whar the heather was blooming / An' laddies and lassies lang lo' a' the day'. This sheet is numbered 35 in the publisher's sequence. There are no publication details given, but this is one of two songs - printed by James Lindsay - on this sheet.

Many of these broadside songs are firmly based in the oral tradition and as such contained easy to remember repetitive elements like the chorus and request to 'bundle up'. This song is a strange mixture of practical and romantic love which must in some capacity reflect the society which it was written in. It is also reveals the extent of parental guidance in match-making, and the prevalence of and opportunity for more casual love affairs.

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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