McG of H instances the "scene-setting" employed in (this case) "The Green Bushes". Two wee points: first, in the version I learnt, the man who meets the "damsel" attempts to woo her with goods and gear:

"I'll give you fine beavers and bright silken gowns,
I'll give you smart petticoats, flounced to the ground,
I'll buy you rich jewels, and live but for thee,
If ye'll leave the Green Bushes and follow [with] me"

Now, just how widely is it known that his first gift would be a tall hat made of fur; or, would the listener unfamiliar with this C19th usage either deduce (eventually) from the context that it's some item of dress or imagine something wet and furry?

Secondly (a tangential point), there are at least three "voices" in this song; the narrator, the "damsel" and the "young man" (her "ould true love", i.e. her former swain). Now, when I sing this song I try to characterise/differentiate these; lighter for the woman, jovial for the suitor, a bit deeper and morose for the jilted one. The compass of the song is about an octave, so it's not difficult to alter timbre. However, when doing this kind of thing with another song involving several voices (a narrator, a young man and a soldier), I was roundly condemned; "you should NEVER 'colour' the voice....". Why not? Singers speed up or slow down, sing louder or quieter according to the words, and are indeed expected to do so. Why then is there any prohibition on altering timbre for expressive purposes when variation in tempi and dynamics are encouraged?