The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Vol. 1: F.J. Child Ballads

The “Child Ballads” are a large collection of 305 songs from England and Scotland compiled by Francis James Child in the late 19th century. Here, Ewan MacColl presents 13 of these songs, sung without accompaniment. MacColl explains the notion of the ballad: “Defined in its simplest terms, the ballad is a folksong that tells a story…is always narrative, and is always learned from the lips of others rather than by reading.” The songs presented here all detail historical events from Scotland and England. It is appropriate then that they are sung by MacColl who himself played a role in English history through his affiliation to the communist parties of the 1930’s which hindered his musical career at the time. His roots in the laboring class add authenticity to the concept of the ballad which grew out of the “popular” lower classes. Liner notes include some song information and lyrics.

Track Listing

101	Johnnie O'Breadisley (Johnie Cock) - Child 114 Ewan MacColl	04:11
102	The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow (Child 214) Ewan MacColl	03:34
103	Lord Randall (Child 12) Ewan MacColl	03:41
104	Sir Patrick Spens (Child 58) Ewan MacColl	05:33
105	The Burning o' Auchendoun (Willie MacIntosh) - Child 183 Ewan MacColl	00:53
106	Our Goodman (Child 274) Ewan MacColl	02:55
107	The Rantin' Laddie (Child 240) Ewan MacColl	03:35
201	Bawbee Allan (Barbara Allan) - Child 84 Ewan MacColl	04:15
202	The Brown Girl (Lord Thomas and Fair Annie) - Child 73 Ewan MacColl	06:29
203	The Three Ravens (Child 26) Ewan MacColl	01:43
204	The Bonnie Earl o' Murray (Child 181) Ewan MacColl	02:47
205	The Battle of Harlaw (Child 163) Ewan MacColl	03:18
206	Thomas Rhymer (Child 37) Ewan MacColl	06:52