Boosey & Hawkes

In 1778 two Irish ladies selected Llangollen as their future home and built Plas Newydd. They lived there for about fifty years, their powers of conversation and somewhat eccentric reputation drawing...

This poem is attributed to Heledd, daughter of Cyndrwyn, whose brothers were all killed during the troubles years following the building of King Offa's Dyke, between 757 and 796. Her lament is for her...

This song may refer to Prince Madoc, born in North Wales between 1134 and 1142. He was an explorer and possibly landed in America around 1170. He supposedly found a land 'affording health, aire, gold,...

The 'lady' is Gwenllian, daughter of Rhys ab Gruffydd, Prince of South Wales, and the first wife of Ednyfed Vychan, chief counsellor of Llewellyn ab Iorweth, Prince of North Wales. She was eminent amo...

This is the North Wales version of an old song of the Druids. 'Hob y deri danno' literally means 'The swine (or pig) under the oaks'.

This song is said to have been a favourite of Henry V (1387-1422) when he was the Prince of Wales, and used to be sung by the Prince and his companions at the Boar's Head Tavern, Cheapside.

Gogerddan' is an ancient mansion near Aberystwyth.

This is the Welsh National Anthem and as such should always be sung in Welsh. However, it is also a lovely song in English, the words conveying the love of the Welsh for their native land. The melody...

Eriskay is the island between Barra and South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides. It was here, in 1745, that Bonnie Prince Charlie first set foot on Scottish soil. The chorus of this gentle Gaelic melody is...

This song has both English and Scottish versions, but the riddles in verse 4 are usually found only in the Scottish one. One of the earliest versions appeared on a broadside in the reign of James II (...

The 17th century outlaw, James Macpherson, who was also a violin player, is said to have written this melody just before being sent to the gallows. According to one story, he broke his fiddle before b...

This song is said to have been written by a street trader named Robert Coltart. He sold boiled sweets before the First World War and his street cry became a favourite song and lullaby.

The origins of this song are unknown, but it is noted as being sung by the famous London actress, Mrs Jordan (an Irish woman), at the Drury Lane Theatre around 1800.

This tune was possibly used to gather the Campbell clan during the Scots rebellion of 1715, but first appeared in print in 1745.

The Diamond was one of twenty whaling ships lost in 1830, trapped in the ice of Melville Bay on the west coast of Greenland.

This is the Scottish version of the story of the highborn lady who runs away with the gypsies.

This Scottish working song is originally from Poems and Songs Chiefly for the Encouragement of the Working Class by Henry Symes, published in 1849.