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Broadside ballad entitled 'The Anchor's Weighed' |
CommentaryThis ballad begins: 'The tear fell gently from her eye; / When last we parted from the shore, / My bosom heaved with many a sigh, / To think I might ne'er sae her more.' The text preceding it reads: 'PRICE ONE PENNY / This Popular Song can always be had at the Poet's Box, 190 Overgate, Dundee.' Most broadsides sold for a penny, although this price was sometimes made more attractive by including two songs or stories on the one sheet. They were usually sold in the street by vendors who sang the song to attract attention. This theme of love separated by the sea may have been a popular theme in Dundee due to its thriving docks. This dockside and long-distance trade, unfortunately, no longer exists. It is not clear what the connection between the different Poet?s Boxes were. They almost certainly sold each other?s sheets. It is known that John Sanderson in Edinburgh often wrote to the Leitches in Glasgow for songs and that later his brother Charles obtained copies of songs from the Dundee Poet?s Box. There was also a Poet?s Box in Belfast from 1846 to 1856 at the address of the printer James Moore, and one at Paisley in the early 1850s, owned by William Anderson. 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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Probable period of publication:
1880-1900 shelfmark: L.C.Fol.70(99a)
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