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Broadside ballad entitled 'Charlie Mash or Those Girls at the School' |
CommentaryThis ballad begins: 'My name's Chrlie Mash, and I've just come from school, / With the heartache, the blues, and the tears in my eye; / I've had a good hiding' they have called me a spoon, / If I wasn't afraid, for two pins I would die . . . ' Below the title, it is recorded that 'THIS POPULAR SONG CAN BE HAD POET'S BOX, Overgate, Dundee'. This light-hearted ballad is narrated by a lovesick young schoolboy, who tries unsuccessfully to woo a number of schoolgirls from different countries, who all - rather strangely - study at a local girls? school. Despite his best attempts at sweet talk, the Scottish, French, German and Greek girls all reject his romantic overtures. Although the audience should not really be taking any pleasure in the poor boy's misfortunes, each one of these ill-starred romantic dialogues is very amusing - particularly the rejection by the Scots lass, which is written in broad Dundonian. Many romantic broadside ballads such as this one are held in the National Library of Scotland's collection. 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(131b)
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