While we are on the subject of broadside ballads, it is useful for the
cultural context to remember that they were usually sung, not read. There
is a splendid CD, 'Popular Tunes in 17th-c England' with 42 of the most
popular 17th-c ballad tunes (including such classics as ''Cuckolds All in
a Row") rendered by the Broadside Band - Jeremy Barlow [Harmonia Mundi
1901039]. Unfortunately these are instrumental versions, but the notes
provide plenty of bibliography so you can look up the words in 17th-c
sources. NB 19th-c editions like the Roxburghe Ballads [9 vols in 8;
reprinted 1966] and Chappell's Popular Music of the Olden Time [Dover
reprint 1965] are heavily bowdlerized, so it is necessary in many cases to
go to 17th sources for the correct or complete words.
Sara Mendelson, Arts & Science, McMaster University