Ewan,Maccoll English And Scottish Popular B CD

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 14 of these songs, sung without accompaniment. MacColl explains the notion of the ballad: "Defined in it's 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.

1. The Beggar Man - Child Appendix 279 2. Lord Gregory - the Lass of Roch Royal - Child 76 3. Young Beichan - Child 53 4. Glasgow Peggy - Child 228 5. Amang the Blue Flowers and the Yellow - Willie's Lyke-Wake 6. Bessie Bell and Mary Grey - Child 201 7. The Bonnie House O' Airlie - Child 199 8. Captain Ward and the Rainbow - Child 287 9. The Gypsy Laddie - Child 200 10. The Broomfield Hill - Child 43 11. Hughie Graeme - Child 191 12. Geordie - Child 209 13. Proud Lady Margaret - Child 47 14. The Sweet Kumadee - the Sweet Trinity - Child 286