Seeking Songs from 1600-1750

Subject: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: GUEST,David Heitler-Klevans
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 10:41 AM

I'm looking for songs that first appeared between 1600-1750, preferably with verifiable origin dates. I'm interested in both European material, as well as from anywhere in the world. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Helen
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 02:02 PM

Hi David,

I'm very fond of a book called An Elizabethan Song Book: Lute Songs, Madrigals, and Rounds.

There are some beautiful songs in it. I have the Faber and Faber edition.

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 02:28 PM

The UCSB English Ballads site will give you hundreds of broadside ballads from the 17th century. ECCO will give you access to thousands of ballads that originated in the 18th century. However you can never fully guarantee origins.

If you pm me your email I can send you a copy of my earliest versions spreadsheet with about 750 songs many of which very likely originated in that period, But again I must emphasise that even this is earliest EXTANT versions.

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 02:36 PM

Since the Ballad Index lists earliest dates for songs, it is easy to search for songs with an Earliest Date of 16XX. This gave me the following 204 songs, with their dates. I edited very casually, mostly by omitting songs that were from before 1600. Note that the song name is before the ------, the date and its location after the dashes.

A Is for Apple Pie ------ 1671 (Some Observations upon the Answer to an Enquiry into the Grounds & Occasions of the Contempt of the Clergy, according to the Opies)
A Robin, Jolly Robin ------ 1765 (Percy) (quoted by Shakespeare in "Twelfth Night" c. 1600, and the Devonshire Manuscript is dated c. 1530 in the British Library description)
A-Begging I Will Go ------ 1684 (Playford's Choyce Ayres and Loyal Songs)
Angel Gabriel, The ------ 1639 (broadside)
Arthur O'Bradley's Wedding (II) ------ before 1642? (Ebsworth; his text is from 1656 _Wits Merriment_)
Arthur O'Bradley's Wedding (IV) ------ 1661 (_The Antidote against Melancholy_, quoted by Ebsworth)
As I Was Going by Charing Cross ------ 1844 (Halliwell); probably first found in an Ashmole ms. of c. 1660 (source: Opei-Oxford2)
As Soft as Silk ------ 1600 "Book of merry Riddles, according to the Opies)
Baffled Knight, The [Child 112] ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, Deuteromelia)
Bailiff's Daughter of Islington, The [Child 105] ------ 1731 (ballad opera, "The Jovial Crew"); before 1697 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(230a))
Barley Mow, The ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia, under the title "Give Us Once a Drinke")
Battle of Schenectady, The (The Schenectady Massacre) ------ 1883 (Pearson, _A History of the Schenectady Patent...._, according to Cohen; Thompson-BodyBootsAndBritches-NewYorkStateFolktales claimes an 1846 version in Watson's _Annals and Occurrences_); supposedly written 1690
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray (I) [Child 201] ------ 1688 (reference according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes); 1824 (Sharpe); 1842 (Halliwell: nursery rhyme) [see notes]
Birks of Abergeldy, The ------ 1692 (according to the commentary to broadside NLScotland Ry.III.a.10(057))
Blackbird (I), The (Jacobite) ------ 1651 (Broadside, reprinted by Ramsay, 1740)
Blind Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green, The [Laws N27] ------ 1624
Boatswain's Call (II), The (The Courageous Mariner's Invitation) ------ before 1697 (broadside Bodleian Don. b.13(39v))
Bold Benjamin, The ------ 1891 (Ashton-RealSailorSongs); before 1679 (Bodleian broadsides)
Bold Soldier, The [Laws M27] ------ 1679 (Roxburghe)
Bonny Barbara Allan [Child 84] ------ 1740 (Tea-Table Miscellany; mentioned by Pepys in 1666)
Boodie Bo ------ 1689 (see note)
Broom of Cowdenknows, The [Child 217] ------ 1768 (Percy collection; tune mentioned 1632)
Callino Casturame (Colleen Og a Store; Cailin O Chois tSiure; Happy 'Tis, Thou Blind, for Thee) ------ 1893 (Hyde, Abhrv°in grv°dh chv?ige Connacht) (title known to and music arranged by William Byrd, died 1623)
Captain Car, or, Edom o Gordon [Child 178] ------ 1755; the Cotton manuscript is from no later than the early seventeenth century; the Percy Folio is from c. 1650
Captain Every ------ 1696 (Burgess, who claims three distinct broadside versions published in that year)
Captain Thunder ------ 1694 ("The Comical History of Don Quixote," according to Frank)
Cavalilly Man, The ------ 1670 (The Dancing Master)
Colly, My Cow ------ 1870 (Halliwell); Baring-Gould/Sheppard-SongsOfTheWest2ndEd claim to have seen a version from 1686 or earlier
Come, Butter, Come ------ 1656 (Ady's A Candle in the Dark, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Cripple of Cornwall, The ------ 1887 (Ashton); a song with this title was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690; a blllad by this title was published 1625
Cuckold by Consent, A ------ before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(172))
Cupid's Trepan (Cupid's Trappan, The Bonny Bird) ------ before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(50a)); a song "Cupid trappanned" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Daemon Lover, The (The House Carpenter) [Child 243] ------ 1737 (a broadside version is thought to be from 1685)
Daniel Cooper ------ 1683 (broadside, Douce Ballads 1(51a))
Dansekar the Dutchman ------ 1609 (broadside, according to Frank)
Description of St. Keyne's Well ------ 1602 (Carew's _Survey of Cornwall_ according to Dixon-AncientPoemsBalladsSongsOfThePeasantryOfEngland)
Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes ------ 1616 (as part of "To Celia," in "The Workes of Benjamin Jonson"); tune in print by 1780
Dulcina ------ 1707 (Pills to Purge Melancholy; registered 1615); a song "As at noon Dulcina Rested" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Dumb Wife, The (Dumb, Dumb, Dumb) [Laws Q5] ------ 1698 (Pills to Purge Melancholy)
Dundee, It's a Pretty Place ------ 1634 (Hunt's Psalter)
Elfin Knight, The [Child 2] ------ 1673 (broadside)
Fairest Lord Jesus (Schonster Herr Jesu) ------ 1677 (German text in Munster Gesang-Buch, according to Julian)
False Bride, The (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass) ------ before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(83a)); also printed in the reign of James II (1685-1688)
Famous Fight at Malago, The ------ c. 1684 (Ebsworth); a song "Fight at Malago" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Famous Flower of Serving-Men, The [Child 106] ------ 1827 (Kinloch, from tradition); 1654-1663? (broadside, Euing 111); title found in the Stationer's Register in 1656; "Lady TUrned Serving-man" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Father of Heaven, Blessed Thou Be (Make Ye Merry for Him That Is Come) ------ before 1600 (three MSS. of that era; see NOTES)
Felon Sewe of Rokeby and the Feeres of Richmond, The ------ 1654 (transcript by Sir Thomas Rokeby)
Female Robber, The ------ c.1690 (according to Ebsworth)
Fire Ship, The ------ 1612 (London broadside, "Watten's Town End")
Foggy Dew (I), The (The Bugaboo) [Laws O3] ------ 1689 (broadside, EngBdsdBA Pepys 5.250)
For Want of a Nail ------ 1640 (first three lines in Herbert's Outlandish Proverbs, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Fortune My Foe (Aim Not Too High) ------ 1610 (W. Corkine's Instruction Book for the Lute)
Friar in the Well, The [Child 276] ------ 1719 (Pills; tune in "The Dancing Master," 1651); a song "Fryer in the Well" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Frog Went A-Courting ------ perhaps 1549 (Wedderburn's "Complaynt of Scotland"); there is a reference in the Stationer's Register of 1580 to "A Moste Strange Weddinge of the Frogge and the Mouse"; Ravenscroft's 1611 _Melismata_ has "The Marriage of the Frogge and the Movse" which is certainly this
Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May (To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time) ------ 1648 (publication date, according to Wikipedia); Chappell dates the tune to 1659
Geordie Cunningham ------ before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(258a))
George of Oxford ------ before 1700 (Ebsworth dates the Pepys broadside to 1671-1692: "probably this was reprinted from an earlier and lost broadside ... circa 1612")
Gilderoy ------ 1725 (an isolated stanza appears in "Westminster Drollery," 1671)
Go From My Window (I) ------ 1611 (The Knight of the Burning Pestle); but see notes for evidence of 16th century versions
Golden Vanity, The [Child 286] ------ c. 1685 (broadside)
Great Booby, The ------ before 1681 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(92a))
Ha Mi Ow-mos En Gun Las (The Octopus) ------ 1698 (source: Deane/Shaw)
Harvest Home Song (IV -- Your Hay Is Mow'd) ------ 1691 (Purcell's "King Arthur"; see NOTES)
Haselbury Girl, The (The Maid of Tottenham, The Aylesbury Girl) ------ 1656 (printed in Choyce Drollery: Songs and Sonnets... Never Before Printed [London])
Hey, Ho, Nobody Home ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, Pammelia)
Hey, Then, Up Go We (Hey Boys Up Go We) ------ 1681 (broadside, Bodleian Vet. A3 c.29(6))
High Barbaree [Child 285; Laws K33] ------ 1670 (the title is mentioned 1611; a fragment is found in 1634)
Hot Engagement Between a French Privateer and an English Fireship, (An Excellent New Song Entitled A...) ------ 1691 (broadside date)
Hughie Grame [Child 191] ------ before 1697 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(204b))
Hunting of the Cheviot, The [Child 162] ------ 1765 (Percy; mentioned in "Wit's End" in 1617 and in the Stationer's Register in 1624); the manuscript Ashmole 48 is thought to have been written during the reign of Mary 1 (1553-1558)
Huron Carol, The (Jesous Ahatonhia) ------ c. 1642
I Gave Her Cakes ------ 1926 (Scott); reported to have been composed 1690 (source: WIkipedia, as of Oct. 17. 2013)
I Hae Layen Three Herrings a Sa't (I Cannot Come Every Day to Woo) ------ 1611 (_Melismata, Musical phansies ...._ according to Dixon-AncientPoemsBalladsSongsOfThePeasantryOfEngland)
I Live Not Where I Love ------ before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding 11(39)); probably c. 1650 (Percy Folio)
I Saw Three Ships ------ 1666 ("As I sat on a sunny bank" version in Forbes's Cantus)
If All the World Were Paper ------ 1641 (Wit's Recreations)
If I Live to Grow Old ------ 1685 (Playford, Theatre of Music, according to Bell-Combined-EarlyBallads-CustomsBalladsSongsPeasantryEngland)
Ill Fares the Family ------ 1671 (Ebsworth)
In Arthur's Court Tom Thumb Did Live ------ 1630 (edition printed by John Wright, according to Ritson)
In January Last ------ 1676 (D'Urfey's "The Fond Husband, or The Plotting Sisters, according to Chappell-PopularMusicOfTheOldenTime)
It Was a Lover and His Lass ------ 1600 (Morley's "The First Book of Ayres or Little Short Songs")
Jack Sprat ------ 1639 (John Clarke's _Paroemiologia Anglo-Latina_, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Jane Shore ------ 1765 (Percy); reference in the Stationer's Register in 1603, but no copy recovered; a song called "Jane Shore" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Jerusalem, My Happy Home (Long Sought Home) ------ 1941 (Ault); version from c. 1601 in "The Song of Mary"
John Dory [Child 284] ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, Deuteromelia)
John, Come Kiss Me Now ------ tune said to date to 1609 (Chappell/Wooldridge-OldEnglishPopularMusic)
Johnie Armstrong [Child 169] ------ 1658; a song with this name was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Jolly Pinder of Wakefield, The [Child 124] ------ 1663 (garland; there is a Stationer's Register entry for "Robin Hood and the Pinder of Wakefield" from 1558)
Jolly Sailors (I) ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft's _Deuteromelia_, according to _Sea Songs and Ballads_)
Jolly Thresher, The (Poor Man, Poor Man) ------ c. 1685 (broadside); 1792 (Scots Musical Museum)
Joseph and Mary (Joseph Being an Aged Man, Joseph an Aged Man Truly) ------ before 1675 (Bodleian, 4o Rawl. 566(168))
Jubilate Deo ------ 1607 (Musarum Sioniarum, no. 16, according to WIkipedia)
Kate and Her Horns [Laws N22] ------ 1856 (Thompson-APioneerSongster); a broadside exists from c. 1690)
Katie Cruel (The Leeboy's Lassie; I Know Where I'm Going) ------ 1611 (quoted by Beaumont & Fletcher)
King John and the Bishop [Child 45] ------ before 1695 (broadside); "King Henry and the Archbishop of Canterbury" is from the sixteenth century or earlier
King of the Castle ------ 1680 (Fletcher, The Perfect Politician, according to the Opies)
King William and the Keeper ------ 1676 (broadside)
King's Disguise, and Friendship with Robin Hood, The [Child 151] ------ 1777; c. 1670 (Forresters Manuscript)
Knight and the Shepherd's Daughter, The [Child 110] ------ 1769 (Percy); title mentioned 1656 (stationer's register; tune from "The Dancing Master," 1652)
Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament ------ 1626-1627 (according to Ebsworth); else c.1650 (Percy folio); see comments by Chambers and Ebsworth on earlier "fountain-heads."
Lady Isabella's Tragedy ------ before 1667 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(111a))
Lamentation of a Bad Market, The ------ 1651 (The Loves of Hero and Leander, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Lavender Blue ------ before 1685 (broadside)
Leather Bottel, The ------ c.1662 (Ebsworth); before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(119b))
Lilliburlero ------ 1688 (broadside, Bodleian (Wood 417(168)-Wood 417(172)))
Lion and the Unicorn, The ------ 1691 (according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Little John a Begging [Child 142] ------ before 1663 (braodside printed by William Gilbertson); also a garland of 1663
Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard [Child 81] ------ 1613 (The Knight of the Burning Pestle); earliest full version before 1750 (Percy Folio)
Little Nancy Etticoat ------ 1842 (Halliwell); a manuscript version is thought to date from c. 1645, according to the Opies
Locks and Bolts [Laws M13] ------ 1876 (Christie, _Traditional Ballad Airs I_); a song "Locks and Bolts Do Hinder" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Lord Thomas and Fair Annet [Child 73] ------ 1677 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(120b))
Lord Willoughby ------ 1765 (Percy); tune known from 1603 (Robinson's "Schoole of Musick"); a song with this name was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Love's Fierce Desire and Hope's of Recovery ------ before 1681 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(132a))
Maggie Lauder ------ 1794 (Ritson); reportedly written 1642
Margery, Feed Well the Black Sow ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, Deuteromelia)
Martin Said To His Man ------ 1609 (Deuteromelia; registered as a ballad 1588)
Mary Ambree ------ 1629 (broadside; see notes)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (I) ------ 1891 (Baring-Gould); original probably from 1656 (Ady, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Maypole Song, The ------ 1671 (_Westminster Drollery_)
Mowing the Barley (Cold and Raw) ------ before 1697 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 39(152)); 1699 ("Pills to Purge Melancholy"; a bawdy version)
Musselburgh Field [Child 172] ------ before 1750 (Percy Folio); "Upon the Scots being beaten at Muscelborough Field" appeared in "Choyce Drollery" in 1656
My Dog and I ------ before 1680 (broadside, Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(108))
My Lady Went to Canterbury ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, Pammellia); c. 1545 (Kele)
My Nannie, O ------ before 1697 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson a.57(24c))
My Spinning Wheel ------ 1719 (Pills to Purge Melancholy); 1688? (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 1(19b))
Net for a Night Raven, A, or, A Trap for a Scold ------ before 1675 (Bodleian broadside 4o Rawl. 566(165))
New England's Annoyances ------ 1774 (Massachusetts Spy, according to Lemay and Cohen); probably written c. 1643
Noble Fisherman, The, or, Robin Hood's Preferment [Child 148] ------ 1663 (garland); a song that was likely this one was entered into the Stationer's Register in 1631
Now Robin, Lend to Me Thy Bow ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, _Pammelia_)
Of All the Birds ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia)
Off to Flanders ------ 1693 (Ebsworth)
Old Maid's Song (I), The ------ 1636 (broadside)
Old Man's Three Sons (Jeffery, James, and John) ------ 1632 (Choice of Inventions, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Old Mother Twitchett ------ 1600 (source: Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Old Simeon ------ 1652 (Hilton's _Catch That Catch Can_, according to Sandys) [but see notes for earlier references to the first line]
One Misty, Moisty Morning ------ 1700 (Pills to Purge Melancholy, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes); tune from 1650 (Playford's The Dancing Master, according to Chappell); the Opies say that a broadside, "The Wiltshire Wedding" was printed c. 1680
Pat-a-Cake ------ 1698 (Tom D'Urfey's _The Campaigners_, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Peggy and the Soldier (The Lame Soldier) [Laws P13] ------ before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(208a)); a song with this name was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Pilgrim's Sea-Voyage and Sea-Sickness, The (Pilgrim's Song; Pilgrims to St. James) ------ before 1600 (MS. Cambridge, Trinity College R.3.19)
Praise of Saylors Here Is Set Forth, The ------ before 1680 (broadside Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(157))
Rain, Rain, Go Away ------ 1947 (Opie & Opie); a probable ancestor quoted by Aubrey in 1687 and another by John Howell in 1659
Remember, O Thou Man ------ 1611 (Ravenscroft, Melismata)
Rest, Sweet Nymphs ------ 1605 (The First Booke of Songs or Ayres of 4 Parts)
Riddles Wisely Expounded [Child 1] ------ before 1680 (broadside, Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(193)); c. 1450 (ms. Bodleian Rawlinson D.328)
Robin Hood and Allen a Dale [Child 138] ------ 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood and Little John [Child 125] ------ before 1685 (broadside by W. Onley; title mentioned 1624 in the Stationer's Register); it was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Robin Hood and Queen Katherine [Child 145] ------ 1663 (garland); a song that was likely this one was entered into the Stationer's Register in 1656, and a broadside probably printed by 1655
Robin Hood and the Beggar (I) [Child 133] ------ Before 1662 (Bodleian, Wood 401(23)); 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood and the Bishop [Child 143] ------ 1663 (garland); a song that was likely this one was entered into the Stationer's Register in 1656
Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford [Child 144] ------ c. 1670 (Forresters manuscript)
Robin Hood and the Butcher [Child 122] ------ before 1662 (broadside Bodleian Wood 401(19))
Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar [Child 123] ------ 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow [Child 152] ------ 1777 (garland); the Forresters Manuscript version is from c. 1670
Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon [Child 129] ------ 1749; it was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Robin Hood and the Scotchman [Child 130] ------ 1663
Robin Hood and the Shepherd [Child 135] ------ 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood and the Tanner [Child 126] ------ probably 1657 (Stationer's Register)
Robin Hood and the Tinker [Child 127] ------ 1777; c. 1670 (Forresters manuscript); it was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Robin Hood Newly Revived [Child 128] ------ 1663 (Garland)
Robin Hood Rescuing Will Stutly [Child 141] ------ 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Said Little John ------ 1611 (Ravenscroft, Pammelia)
Robin Hood's Birth, Breeding, Valor, and Marriage [Child 149] ------ 1716; Wing dated one of the broadsides before 1685, according to Knight/Ohlgren
Robin Hood's Chase [Child 146] ------ 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood's Death [Child 120] ------ before 1750 (Percy Folio), and the basic plot is in the "Gest of Robyn Hode" from 1534 or earlier; there is a possible Stationer's Register mention from 1691
Robin Hood's Delight [Child 136] ------ 1663 (garland)
Robin Hood's Golden Prize [Child 147] ------ 1663 (garland); what seems to be this ballad was registered 1656 in the Stationer's Register and Wing dates one broadside version to 1650
Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham [Child 139] ------ 1663 (garland; title found 1656 in the Stationer's Register)
Rosamund Clifford ------ 1765 (Percy) (Broadside registered 1656)
Saylors for My Money ------ 1986 (Palmer-OxfordBookOfSeaSongs); the broadside apparently was printed before 1639
Seaman and His Love, A (The Welcome Sailor) [Laws N29] ------ 1620 (Stationer's Register -- apparently)
Seaman's Compass, The ------ 1657 (broadside printed by Francis Grove, according to Palmer-OxfordBookOfSeaSongs)
Seeds of Love, The ------ 1689 (cited in Sharp; first full text from Campbell, 1816)
Shrowsbury For Me ------ before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(26))
Sir Andrew Barton [Child 167] ------ 1723; a song with this name was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Six Dukes Went a-Fishing ------ 1690 (broadside)
Spanish Lady's Love, The ------ 1728 (registered 1603, and quoted in 1616)
Suffolk Miracle, The [Child 272] ------ 1689? (broadside, dated to that year by Wood); a song with this name was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Tallis's Canon ------ 1695 (composition of words, according to Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs)
Teasing Songs ------ 1615 (The Percy Folio Manuscript has one such teasing song, "A Friend of Mine.")
Three Blind Mice ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia)
Three Butchers, The (Dixon and Johnson) [Laws L4] ------ c. 1678
Three Jolly Huntsmen ------ 1613 (broadside, "Choice of Inventions, Or Seuerall sort of the figure of three"; earliest complete form 1219?)
Three Little Girls A-Skating Went ------ 1651 (The Loves of Hero and Leander, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
Three Ravens, The [Child 26] ------ 1611 (Ravenscroft, Melismata)
Tobacco's But an Indian Weed ------ 1699 (Pills to Purge Melancholy); also in Trinity College (Dublin) MS. G.2.21
Tom a Bedlam (Bedlam Boys) ------ 1720 (Pills to Purge Melancholy); "Mad Tom of Bedlam" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Tom Potts [Child 109] ------ 1657 (broadside, according to Child)
True Tale of Robin Hood, A [Child 154] ------ 1632 (Stationer's Register entry, which in this case we can be sure applies to this ballad)
Twa Sisters, The [Child 10] ------ 1656 (broadside)
Two Constant Lovers, The ------ 1629 (broadside, according to Bruce Olson's site at California State University Fresno)
Two Legs Sat Upon Three Legs ------ 1600 (Booke of merry Riddles, according to the Opies)
Under the Greenwood Tree ------ 1686 (The Dancing Master)
Wanton Wife of Bath, The ------ 1600? (June 26, 1600 Stationer's Register entry for "The Wanton Wife of Bath"); before 1681 (Bodleian Wood E 25(93),Douce Ballads 2(241a))
We Be Soldiers Three ------ 1609 (Ravenscroft, Deuteromelia)
We Be Three Poor Mariners ------ 1609 (Deuteromelia)
We Happy Herdsmen Here ------ 1624 (Shanne MS., according to Friedman)
West-Country Damosel's Complaint, The [Child 292] ------ before 1695
When the King Enjoys His Own Again ------ 1671 ("The Loyal Garland")
Who Would True Valour See (He Who Would Valiant Be) ------ 1684 (Pilgrim's Progress, according to Reynolds)
Ye Gentlemen of England (I) [Laws K2] ------ 1686
Yo Ho, Yo Ho ------ The type appears in 1661, in Merry Drollery, as "There Were Three Birds"; then in the 1838 chapbook The Fancy! A Fanciful Collection of Fancy, Flash, and Amatory Songs as "Billy Go Leary"
Young Beichan [Child 53] ------ 1783/1799 (Riewerts-BalladRepertoireOfAnnaGordon-MrsBrownOfFalkland); a song "Bateman" was in William Thackeray's broadside catalog by 1690
Young Jemmy ------ 1681 (broadside Firth b.20(84))
Young Man's Lamentation, The ------ before 1697 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(261b))

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 02:48 PM

Steve - I know you said to PM you, but I don't see where to do that. My email is xxx xxx.

Thanks!
David

---

Email sent to Steve. -Joe-

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Helen
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 03:04 PM

Guest, you can only PM if you are a member so it probably won't work for you. The PM link is to the right of the name of the person at the top of their post.

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Mar 25 - 03:18 PM

I was about to suggest the 'Antwerps liedboek' but it turns out the collection was first printed in 1544. Too old?

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Jack Campin
Date: 04 Mar 25 - 04:13 PM

French topical ones, mainly broadsides: Pierre Barbier and France Vernillat, *Histoire de France par les Chansons*. Umpteen volumes in chronological order.

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: GUEST,PMB
Date: 05 Mar 25 - 03:17 PM

"Blackbird (I), The (Jacobite) ------ 1651"

Did the Cavaliers have Nostradamus working for them?

I've got a book - somewhere - that I bought years ago, songs of the (English) civil war. The Daughter was learning piano at the time, and I heard a strange warbling one morning, coming from the next room. There she was, pink- warbling and plonking her way through all 57 verses of the Dreadful Tale of Titus Andronicus, to the tune of Fortune My Foe.

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Mar 25 - 08:04 PM

From Google Books:

DELICIÆ MUSICÆ: being, A Collection of the newest and best SONGS Sung at Court and at the Publick Theatres … (London: Henry Playford, 1695-6).
THE FIRST BOOK - THE SECOND BOOK - THE THIRD BOOK - THE FOURTH BOOK

Or just use this search for books with the word “songs” in the title, between 1600 and 1750.

Subject: RE: Seeking Songs from 1600-1750
From: Robert B. Waltz
Date: 06 Mar 25 - 08:25 PM

GUEST.PMB wrote:

"Blackbird (I), The (Jacobite) ------ 1651"

Did the Cavaliers have Nostradamus working for them?

If you looked at the entry for the song in the Ballad Index, you'd find the note (in part), "The first broadside versions of this song date to 1650, obviously referring to British King Charles II, who was then in exile following the execution of his father Charles I in 1649. It wasn't safe to refer to him by name, so the allegorical 'blackbird' was used. It seems also to have been used of James II, and perhaps also to his son James III. However, the title came to be most strongly associated with Bonnie Prince Charlie."

So, while it's true that the song in its original form would not have been called "Jacobite," it was pro-Stuart, and it continues to be used once the actual Jacobites came along. As a traditional song, it was associated with Jacobitism.

I called it the "Jacobite" song "The Blackbird" to distinguish it from at least six other blackbird songs, versions of (e.g.) Logan's Lament, Granua's Lament, Cupid's Trepan, I Am a Young Maiden, a parody of "Bye, Bye, Blackbird," and so forth.