In each entry, click on the ballad title in the first line to follow the lyrics and read my commentary.
Click on the album title in the second line to hear the performance courtesy of YouTube.
Introduction: “The Lark in the Morning” performed by Steeleye Span
Track 7 on the album Please to See the King (1971)
1. “Sovay” performed by Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick
Originally recorded as Track 3 on the album Martin Carthy (1965); Track 1 on the album Life and Limb (1990)
2. “Jack Orion” performed by A.L. Lloyd and Dave Swarbrick
Track 5 on the album First Person (1966)
3. “Martinmas Time” performed by Anne Briggs
Track 13 on the album The Bird in the Bush (1966)
4. “The Brisk Butcher” performed by Maddy Prior and Tim Hart
Track 8 on the album Folk Songs of Old England, Vol. 1 (1968)
5. “Tam Lin” performed by Fairport Convention
Track 7 on the album Liege & Lief (1969)
6. “The Drowned Lovers” performed by Nic Jones
Track 2 on the album Penguin Eggs (1980)
7. “The Unquiet Grave” performed by Kate Rusby
Track 4 on the album Sleepless (1999)
8. “Just as the Tide Was Flowing” performed by Eliza Carthy
Track 2 on the album Anglicana (2002)
9. “The Outlandish Knight” performed by Norma Waterson with Waterson:Carthy
Track 4 on the album A Dark Light (2002)
10. “Fair Margaret and Sweet William” performed by June Tabor
Track 7 on the album An Echo of Hooves (2003)
Holmström Ruddick 