Songbooks

This ballad is one of the most enduringly popular, both in England and Scotland. It is mentioned by Samuel Pepys in his diary on 2 January 1666. It has been set to various tunes, but the familiar melo...

This is from Northumberland and is a shanty, or sailor's work song, sung while pulling together on a rope and so helping to secure rhythmic unanimity. The shantyman sang the tune, the rest joining in...

This 17th century air is still used for dancing around the maypole.

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...