The Ballads & Songs of Derbyshire With Illustrative Notes, and Examples of the Original Music, etc. — Story, Setting & Ideas

A Confessional Voice from the Margins

The longest excerpt presents a first-person narrative of moral and political transgression. The speaker recounts a youth spent in 'myscheife,' neglecting church and marriage, then rising at court through 'gesture and talke' while secretly plotting. The voice is unsparing: 'I was content to playe a traytors parte.' This is not a simple ballad but a detailed, remorseful account of ambition and conspiracy, using the metaphor of 'Iccarus aloft' to describe a fall from grace. The editor's note likely identifies the historical figure, but the text itself stands as a vivid psychological portrait.

Sources and Editorial Method

Jewitt explains that he avoided chronological arrangement, instead varying the contents and providing introductory notes. Many ballads come from 'old broad-sheets and garlands' never before reprinted; others were 'taken down from the lips of old inhabitants' or from original manuscripts. This mix of print and oral sources gives the collection a dual character: some pieces are literary artifacts, others are living traditions. The editor's dedication to the Duke of Devonshire and his plan for a 'Second Series' suggest a systematic effort to document Derbyshire's folk heritage.

The Language of Sin and Statecraft

The confessional excerpt uses a rich, archaic vocabulary of moral failure: 'spotted our conscience,' 'spoiled our good name,' 'Judas kisse.' The speaker describes his hypocrisy in court, where he 'fawned openlie' but 'inwardlie did hate.' Political plotting is framed in religious terms—'Catholicks still conversant' who 'looked for a daye'—and the conspiracy involves 'parlinge with parasites' and 'counsell of Caterpillers.' The poem's structure, with its repeated moral refrains and detailed self-accusation, resembles both medieval complaint and Tudor political verse.

Reading the Collection as a First-Time Visitor

Because the excerpts are incomplete, the reader encounters only a fragment of one ballad—likely a long, narrative piece—without its introductory note or musical setting. This fragment suggests that Jewitt's collection includes not just light songs but serious, historically charged poems. A first-time reader should expect variety: some ballads may be comic or local, others political or devotional. The editor's notes are essential for context, as they explain events, authors, and sources. The midi links offer an auditory dimension, though the texts themselves reward attention to dialect, meter, and archaic spelling.

Jewitt's volume invites readers to explore Derbyshire's literary past through ballads that range from tavern songs to treason confessions. The confessional excerpt, with its dense moral and political language, hints at the collection's depth beyond mere local color. Readers will benefit from consulting the introductory notes for each piece and from comparing the printed texts with the musical examples where available.

I kept thinking about that old Derbyshire collection, the way those ballads whispered secrets you weren’t sure you should hear. It reminded me of another book, Modern Street Ballads — Story, Setting & Ideas, which carries that same quiet ache—stories of ordinary people stumbling, and the weight they drag along afterwards. Its pages feel like a friend’s hesitant confession, lingered on long after closing.