Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England
Various
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
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 |