Broadside ballad entitled 'Blue Ey'd Mary'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'As I roved out on a summer day, / To view the flowers springing'. This sheet was published by James Lindsay of 9 King Street, Glasgow.

This ballad addresses a favourite ballad theme, courtship and marriage with a sudden but inspiring lover. As with most of these poems though, consummation upon the promise of marriage is taken for granted. It is now thought, through the study of early church marriage and baptismal registers that over half this country's women were six months pregnant when they stood at the altar.

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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