Hi all, this will be a short one. I have a writer’s conference coming up, in which I am involved with running. Write Stuff Writers Conference 2025

If you follow this blog, my fascination with fairy tales is well known to you. Part of my fascination is beyond the message of the tales but also into the origins of the tales. Ballads are one of the origins of some of the fairy tales. (Conversely, fairy tales are the origins of some of the ballads.)

Back in January, I blogged about the English and Scottish Popular Ballads and my project to ‘translate’ them into understandable English. I still think this is a worthy goal, but I have since discovered I am too late. There is a cadre of musicians who have accomplished this task. I knew some of the Child ballads had been resurrected by modern musicians, but I had not realized the extent. My attempts to update the ballads would be to reinvent the wheel. Others have done it better than I.

A word here about the term “ballad.” Back in the days of the 16^th and 17^th centuries, ballads were story poems. Most appeared as “broadsides,” a single printed sheet of paper for sale, containing the ballad verses. Tunes were later associated with the ballads but did not appear on the broadsides. That ballads are musical is a modern notion.

My discovery that I am too late comes with my tripping upon the site Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. This is a massive collection of folk discography. It is well organized. I suggest you click on the Child Index link in the column on the left. There is a huge amount of information, often including the lyrics to the ballad as interpreted by the musician and YouTube videos of the song being performed.

This site is informative and entertaining. Check it out for yourself. I give you the example of The Elfin Knight / Scarborough Fair / Whittingham Fair / Rosemary Lane. Please take note of the YouTube video of Paul Simon singing Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme with Miss Piggy on The Muppet Show. Yup, that came out of the Child Ballads.