The discussion of what class of person Sharp was talking about is tangential to the thread topic, but the following may help to understand his point of view:

Some Conclusions, p97
"On the other hand, the actual occupations of his life less often form the subject of the peasant's song, although there are a certain number in which the pleasures of ploughing, sowing, reaping and other farming operations are extolled... After all, it is not unnatural, seeing that his hours of work are long and arduous, that the labourer should find more recreation in songs of romance and adventure than in
those which remind him of his toil."

Looks like the labouring classes, then.