Boosey & Hawkes

The romantic notion of the highborn lady running off with the gypsies is a very popular subject and appears in various forms in the many versions of this song.

This beautiful song possibly dates from 1485, when Rhys Bodychen led the men of Anglesey to and from the Battle of Bosworth.

This has invariably been seen as a 'march to battle' song, whereas in fact it refers to the siege of Harlech Castle. King Edward IV of England ordered the Earl of Pembroke to lead a powerful army to d...

The second verse is evidently the reply made by the 'Maid of Sker' to her lover's appeal in the first verse. Sker is the name of an ancient farmhouse hear the Sker Rocks, Glamorganshire, at one time i...

This is based on an 18th century ballad called Jean of Bethelrie. Many different versions of this song have been recorded, in which the stories are virtually the same.

A West Indian calypso, which originated as a work song of the slaves either on the banana plantations or the loading docks from where the bananas would be shipped abroad.

The composer of this song, Henry Russell (1812-1900), was actually an Englishman who travelled to America. The song became regarded as of American origin.

This song became popular on the American vaudeville stage. The 'tarriers' were Irishmen who blasted through the mountains to make the railways in the 1880s.

A question and answer song from the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virginia. More verses can be added using different colours ad lib.

This is a river shanty about the Shenandoah River in Virginia, and has a typical call and response structure.

This song was sung by the workers on the Erie Canal, which was built in 1816-25 and is 361 miles long, running from the city-port of New York to the Great Lakes.

This is an American version of a popular ballad which also has English, Scottish and Irish versions.