Songbooks

Shakespeare mentions this old and muchloved tune twice in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1597-1600). It probably dates from the mid-16th century.

This kind of riddle song depends on the correct answers being given to win the hand of the lady, so it becomes a battle of wits between the two people.

This children's rhyme and game was collected in Liverpool near the end of the 19th century by Frank Kidson. He included it in his Traditional Tunes (1891) and said, 'The air is somewhat pleasing, and...

This song was collected in Somerset by Cecil Sharp, but seems also to be of Scottish origin. 'Waly' is Scottish for 'alas'.

This old North Country folk song 'On Ilkley Moor without a hat' is a favourite Yorkshire song.

This is an action song similar to This Old Man and Ten Green Bottles.

This is one of the many ballads about the legendary English outlaw and popular hero. This tune appears in Pammelia, the first collection of vocal rounds, catches and canons published in England, in 16...

Paradoxes and riddles have frequently formed the subject of fireside stories and songs. This song is one of them. The original, according to Frank Kidson, is an old ballad called The Elfin Knight.

Sir Jonathan Trelawney, the Bishop of Bristol and Exeter, was committed to the Tower of London in 1688 by James II. Cornishmen then began marching to London to demand his release: this song resounded...

The version of this song that is known today contains an allusion to the Battle of Waterloo (1815), where the Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards defeated the Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard. It is the...

This is obviously a long and 'tall' tale and could have many more verses than are given here. The ram features in the coat of arms of Derby and in the emblem of Derby football club.

The words of this song can be traced back to the mid-18th century. Around 1759 there were many encampments along the south coast of England anticipating French invasion. The tune, which is anonymous,...

This song is closely associated with Newcastle and Tyneside generally; although its first appearance in print was in A Collection of Favourite Scots Tunes in Edinburgh, circa 1770. Keel means a boat a...

This famous sea song is a windlass and capstan shanty collected by Sir Richard Runciman Terry and published in 1921. It follows the form of solo and chorus.

The vicar of the title managed to keep his position through the reigns of a succession of variously Roman Catholic and Protestant monarchs (Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I). There wre prob...

This beautiful Northumbrian folk song is in the same vein as Maa Bonny Lad, except that it is the River Tyne that separates the lovers in this song.

The romantic notion of the highborn lady running off with the gypsies is a very popular subject and appears in various forms in the many versions of this song.

This famous and popular song is a windlass and capstan shanty collected by Sir Richard Runciman Terry.

This Devonshire folk song was collected by the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould. Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a picturesque village in a high fold of Dartmoor. Widecombe Fair is held on the second Tuesday in...

This fishing song comes from the Norfolk coastal village of Happisburgh (pronounced as in verse 1), which has a lighthouse.

Little is known about this song, but Aiken Drum may have been a Scottish gnome or brownie who would only accept payment in food and drink for his work.