Thanks, M. Bear in mind that "Child ballads" run the gamut from the irreducibly stark "Lord Randall" and "Edward" to the later elaborations of Peter Buchan (or some say his informants).


"TBGW" has little or no significant moralizing filler. On the positive side, and more important, I think, are its narrative concision and the fact that it really does tell a story in rhymed stanzas.

The first-person element you refer to is inconsequential. Recall the "I" in, e.g., "The Battle of Harlaw" and "The Burning of Auchindoun." As in "TBGW," these "narrators of convenience" play no role in the story itself.

M, if you have plenty of time on your hands, I'd love to know the specifics of your repertoire at Aldershot. (For an alarmingly growing number of people, 1951 is rather like the Great War or earlier for the likes of us....) PM me if you like!

(And make that "two Egg McMuffin Meals." Still cheap!)