Top pop from seventeenth-century England. Broadside ballads were single-sheet songs that sold for a penny a piece. This website concentrates on over 100 resoundingly successful examples that you can investigate through recordings, images and a wealth of other materials. Whether you are interested in music, art, love, gender, tragedy, politics, family life, crime, history, humour or death, you will find something to engage you here. See also User’s Guide.

Emotions - Love   Emotions - Joy  

Showing 21 to 40 of 47

38 A worthy example of a vertuous wife, who fed her father with her own milk [Roxburghe 3.48-49]
42 An Excellent Ballad of Patient Grissel [Euing 85]
48 A pretty Ballad of the Lord of Lorn, and the false Steward [Pepys 1.494-95]
49 A constant Wife, a kinde Wife,/ A loving Wife, and a fine Wife [Pepys 1.390-91]
51 The Loyal English Man's WISH/ For the Preservation of/ The King and Queen [Pepys 5.63]
56 A CARROUSE/ TO THE/ Emperour, the Royal Pole,/ And the much-wrong'd DUKE of LORRAIN [Roxburghe 4.2]
57 The Shepherd and the King, and of Gillian the Shepherds Wife, with her churlish Answer [Euing 332]
58 An excellent Ballad, Intituled, the unfortunate love of a Lancashire Gentleman,/ and the hard fortune of a fair young Bride [Euing 80]
59 Flora's farewell: Or,/ The Shepherds Love-passion Song [Euing 121]
63 A most godly and comfortable Ballad of the glorious/ Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ [Roxburghe 1.258-59]
64 A PATTERN of true LOVE to you I will recite,/ Between a Beautiful Lady and a Courtious Knight [Roxburghe 2.579]
69 Ile never Love thee more/ being a true Love Song between a young/ Man and a Maid [Pepys 3.266]
70 The wofull complaint, and lamentable death of a forsaken Lover [Pepys 1.354-55]
71 The Scotch Lasses Constancy/ OR/ Jenny's Lamentation for the loss of Jockey [Crawford 1217]
72 A Lamentable Ballad of Fair Rosamond, King Henry the Second’s Concubine,/ Who was put to death by Queen Elinor, in Woodstock Bower near Oxford [Pepys 1.498-99]
75 An Excellent New SONG,/ OF THE/ Two Happy LOVERS [Pepys 5.184]
79 Win at first, lose at last; or, a New Game at Cards [Bodleian Wood 401 (149v-150r)]
82 The two Constant Lovers. Or,/ A patterne of true Love exprest in this loving Dialogue betweene Samuell and Sara [Euing 360]
90 Cupids Courtesie:/ OR,/ The young Gallant foild at his own Weapon [Euing 39]
92 An Excellent Ballad of the Mercers son of Midhurst, and/ the Clothiers daughter of Guilford [Euing 91 and 12]