I've been wondering this for a while now. Many times a ballad singer will speak the a bit of last or final line of a ballad rather than sing it.

I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the source of this and how it has become so popular.

I don't tend to do it a lot myself, but I can certainly see some advantages to using it in putting emphasis on the final bit of the story.

Like the "finger in the ear" can (I suppose) be attributed to MacColl, can the speaking of the last line of a ballad be attributed to one singer?

Debra Cowan