Broadside ballad entitled 'Duncan Campbell'

Commentary

This ballad begins: 'My name is Duncan Campbell, from the shire of Argyle ; / I've travelled this country for many a long mile ; / I have travelled through England and Ireland and a', / And the name I go under is bold Erin-go-Bragh.' The sheet is undated and no publication details are given. A woodcut of a man, of Victorian appearance, adorns the top of the sheet.

For a long time in Scotland there was strong prejudice against Highlanders and Irishmen. Duncan Campbell is a Highland Scot, from Argyllshire, who, in Edinburgh, is mistaken for an Irishman. On account of this shared persecution, Campbell identifies with the Irish, and goes by the name 'Erin-go-bragh', which is a battlecry meaning 'Ireland Forever'. He ends up striking an indolent policeman and leaves the central belt and its prejudice.

This song was written in the nineteenth century, and the mention of the police puts it post-1829, when the 'Peelers' were first established.

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