Category Archives: Ballad Analysis

Posts specifically about Ballads.

Four Treasures of Ireland

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Daniel Kelly

I have been working my way through The Secret Rose and Other Stories, which is a compilation of several short stories and essays by William Butler Yeats. As a ballad collector and writer I was very pleased to find many … Continue reading →

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Ye Sons of Australia

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Daniel Kelly

Ned Kelly was executed at Melbourne gaol on 11 November 1880. While I don’t consider myself and Australian songwriter (I was born in New Zealand, and am more drawn to the songs of Ireland and Scotland), it was a little … Continue reading →

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Love in a Tub – Roud#556

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Daniel Kelly

I have been listening to Rachel McDonough’s renditions of ballads from the Francis Child collection for about four years. These ballads are mostly of English/Scotts/Irish origin from the 1600-1700s or earlier. While many of these ballads were revived/re-discovered in the … Continue reading →

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A Factory Lad – Part 4

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Daniel Kelly

Wherever you go in society, politics are sure to come up. After spending a day listening to the Australian Folklore conference speakers at the National Library on 18 April and speaking with more people who were part of the Australian … Continue reading →

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Stand and Deliver

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Daniel Kelly

Daoiri Farrell’s latest CD includes the ballad, Valentine O’Hara, sung here in 1978 by Frank Harte. While doing some research before making a recording I came across this Mudcat.org thread linking the song to Allan Tyne of Harrow. To me … Continue reading →

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Who was Ossian Macpherson?

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Daniel Kelly

When a certain flavour of fundamentalist Christian has a public and pious rant about the satanic evils of Halloween, I cannot help but feel sympathy and sadness. It isn’t fair to blame people for their ignorance, and in most cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballad Analysis, Blog Post, Folk Music, Poetry | 7 Comments

Nine Tailors make a Man

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Daniel Kelly

In the New York Times, on 10 December 1904, can be found a letter to the editor arguing over the origins of the phrase ‘Nine Tailors make a Man’, which was obviously in common currency at that time. The correspondent … Continue reading →

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The Stolen Rhyme

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Daniel Kelly

I have always loved the haunting ethereal beauty of Loreena McKennitt’s setting of William Butler Yeat’s poem, The Stolen Child, to music. I tried to practice singing the song before doing this recording for my YouTube channel, but even after … Continue reading →

Posted in Ballad Analysis, Blog Post, Folk Music, Lyrics and Chords, Poetry, Spirituality and Philosophy | 4 Comments

William’s Razor – Yass History

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Daniel Kelly

As a lover of ballads it is always exciting when you can pair a particular place and time with a ballad that has been circulating for 100 years or more. I had been singing Mary from Dungloe for many years … Continue reading →

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Whose Thyme is it Anyway?

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Daniel Kelly

I have been singing the song commonly known as ‘Will Ye Go Lassie Go’ or ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ or ‘Purple Heather’ for many years as it was one of my favourite songs on an Irish Music compilation that I picked … Continue reading →

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