The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs

Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain, for we've received orders for to sail for old England but we hope in a short while to see you again. One of the great English popular art forms, the folk song can be painful, satirical, erotic, dramatic, rueful or funny. They have thrived when sung on a whim to a handful of friends in a pub; they have bewitched generations of English composers who have set them for everything from solo violin to full orchestra; they are sung in concerts, festivals, weddings, funerals and with nobody to hear but the singer. This magical new collection brings together all the classic folk songs as well as many lesser-known discoveries, complete with music and annotations on their original sources and meaning.