Today I will look at the ballad known Lady Elspat Lady Elspat plans to elope with her love William, but her brother's page informs Elspat’s mother. The mother takes William to court on a charge of breaking into the castle ste...

In today’s podcast we’ll take a look at songs in which lovers are parted and eventually return after some years.  These are often referred to as broken token songs 

Today’s podcast looks at the ballad The Wife of Usher’s Well. A mother sends her sons across the sea to school, only to find later that they had died. She grieves their loss, cursing the winds and sea for their return. They do retur...

Today I will look at the Victorian song British Man of War and its sequel Susan’s Adventures in a British Man of War. A sailor is walking with his true love Susan. When she asks him not to venture into danger; the ...

Today I will look at the song known as Three Ravens and the reworked version known as TheTwa Corbies. The ballad tells of a discussion between three ravens that see a dead knight whose body is protected from predators by his hounds and hawks