Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England


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This traditional, and, for the most part, unprinted literature,—cherished in remote villages, resisting everywhere the invasion of modern namby-pamby verse and jaunty melody, and possessing, in an historical point of view, especial value as a faithful record of the feeling, usages, and modes of life of the rural population,—had been almost wholly passed over amongst the antiquarian revivals which constitute one of the distinguishing features of the present age. While attention was successfully drawn to other forms of our early poetry, this peasant minstrelsy was scarcely touched, and might be considered unexplored ground. There was great difficulty in collecting materials which lay scattered so widely, and which could be procured in their genuine simplicity only from the people amongst whom they originated, and with whom they are as ‘familiar as household words.’ - Summary by Robert Bell (8 hr 50 min)

Chapters

Introduction 10:11 Read by Devorah Allen
The Plain-Dealing Man 5:17 Read by Josh Kibbey
The Vanities of Life 8:53 Read by Nemo
The Life and Age of Man 4:40 Read by Nemo
The Young Man's Wish 1:59 Read by Devorah Allen
The Midnight Messenger 8:21 Read by Josh Kibbey
A Dialogue Betwix an Exciseman and Death 6:48 Read by Jim Gallagher
The Messenger of Mortality 5:11 Read by Josh Kibbey
England's Alarm 7:08 Read by Ellies
Smoking Spiritualized 5:37 Read by Stephen Harvey
The Masonic Hymn 4:43 Read by Ellies
God Speed the Plow, and Bless the Corn-mow 5:12 Read by ritalouise
A Dialogue Between the Husbandman and the Servingman 5:04 Read by ritalouise
The Catholick 1:59 Read by ritalouise
The Three Knights 4:36 Read by ritalouise
The Blind Beggar of Bednall Green 15:17 Read by ritalouise
The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood 4:40 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Outlandish Knight 4:19 Read by ritalouise
Lord Delaware 8:07 Read by Ellies
Lord Bateman 5:17 Read by Ellies
The Golden Glove; or, the Squire of Tamworth 3:06 Read by Chris Pyle
King James I. and the Tinkler 4:33 Read by Devorah Allen
The Keach I’ the Creel 3:46 Read by Devorah Allen
The Merry Broomfield; or, the West Country Wager 6:16 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Sir John Barleycorn 4:04 Read by Alan Mapstone
Blow the Winds, I-ho! 5:21 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Beautiful Lady of Kent; or, the Seaman of Dover 16:46 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Berkshire Lady’s Garland 17:16 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Nobleman’s Generous Kindness 6:37 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Drunkard’s Legacy 8:14 Read by Josh Kibbey
The Bowes Tragedy 10:25 Read by Carrie-Lorraine Sherry
The Crafty Lover; or, the Lawyer Outwitted 4:02 Read by ritalouise
The Death of Queen Jane 3:54 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Wandering Young Gentlewoman; or, Catskin 19:53 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Brave Earl Brand and the King of England’s Daughter 6:03 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove; or, the Old Man and his Three Sons 4:51 Read by Stephen Harvey
Lady Alice 2:14 Read by Carrie-Lorraine Sherry
The Felon Sewe of Rokeby and the Freeres of Richmond 15:36 Read by Stephen Harvey
Arthur O’Bradley’s Wedding 14:14 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Painful Plough 2:55 Read by Larry Wilson
The Useful Plow; or, the Plough’s Praise 3:00 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Farmer’s Son 3:31 Read by Oxenhandler
The Farmer’s Boy 2:39 Read by Oxenhandler
Richard of Taunton Dean; or, Dumble Dum Deary 6:10 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne 4:25 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Clown’s Courtship 2:24 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Harry’s Courtship 2:57 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Harvest-Home Song 2:49 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Harvest-Home 1:58 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Mow 1:28 Read by Larry Wilson
The Barley-Mow Song 8:21 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Barley-Mow Song (Suffolk version) 1:07 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Craven Churn-Supper Song 3:43 Read by ritalouise
The Rural Dance About the May-Pole 3:35 Read by ritalouise
The Hitchin May-Day Song 1:47 Read by ritalouise
The Helstone Furry-Day Song 3:30 Read by ritalouise
Cornish Midsummer Bonfire Song 2:23 Read by ritalouise
Suffolk Harvest-Home Song 2:22 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Haymaker’s Song 2:04 Read by Larry Wilson
The Sword-Dancers’ Song 3:23 Read by Stephen Harvey
The Sword-Dancers’ Song and Interlude 7:49 Read by Stephen Harvey
The Maskers’ Song 3:52 Read by Stephen Harvey
Gloucestershire Wassailers’ Song 2:29 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Mummers’ Song 2:27 Read by Josh Kibbey
Fragment of the Hagmena Song 2:49 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Greenside Wakes Song 3:14 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Swearing-in Song or Rhyme 10:15 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Fairlop Fair Song 4:54 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
As Tom was a-Walking 2:41 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Miller and his Sons 3:17 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Jack and Tom 4:03 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Joan’s Ale Was New 5:19 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
George Ridler’s Oven 9:38 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Carrion Crow 4:34 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Leathern Bottel 3:01 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Farmer’s Old Wife 3:42 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Old Wichet and his Wife 6:32 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Jolly Waggoner 2:47 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Yorkshire Horse-dealer 4:37 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The King and the Countryman 4:42 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Jone o’ Greenfield’s Ramble 5:38 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Thornehagh-Moor Woods 5:00 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Lincolnshire Poacher 2:53 Read by Larry Wilson
Somersetshire Hunting Song 2:43 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Trotting Horse 4:00 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Seeds of Love 3:43 Read by Carrie-Lorraine Sherry
The Garden-Gate 1:46 Read by Larry Wilson
The New-Mown Hay 1:43 Read by Larry Wilson
The Praise of a Dairy 3:36 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Milk-Maid’s Life 2:51 Read by Josh Kibbey
The Milking-Pail 1:47 Read by Josh Kibbey
The Summer’s Morning 5:34 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Old Adam 2:28 Read by Larry Wilson
Tobacco 2:04 Read by Ellies
The Spanish Ladies 2:21 Read by Ellies
Harry the Tailor 1:45 Read by Ellies
Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee 2:44 Read by Ellies
There Was an Old Man Came Over the Lea 1:54 Read by Ellies
Why Should we Quarrel for Riches 2:28 Read by Ellies
The Merry Fellows 2:40 Read by Ellies
The Old Man’s Song 4:24 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Robin Hood’s Hill 3:29 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Begone Dull Care 2:12 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Full Merrily sings the Cuckoo 2:45 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Jockey to the Fair 5:18 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
Long Preston Peg 1:33 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Sweet Nightingale 5:01 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
The Old Man and his Three Sons 2:01 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson
A Begging We Will Go 4:09 Read by Lynda Marie Neilson