RHYMES OF Northern Bards:

BEING A CURIOUS COLLECTION OF OLD AND NEW SONGS AND POEMS,

Peculiar to the Counties of NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, NORTHUMBERLAND, AND DURHAM.

EDITED BY JOHN BELL, JUN.

Newcastle upon Tyne: Printed for John Bell, by M. Angus & Son, and sold by them, and other Booksellers in Town.

MDCCCXII.

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LINES SENT TO THE EDITOR AND PRINTER.

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PREFACE.

“Give me the writing of all the Ballads, for the people of England, and let who will be their law-giver,” was said by a celebrated orator, in speaking on the manners of the people:—this cheering ray, in behalf of ballad writing, gave rise to the publication of the following pages: for how many of these simple, yet popular effusions, have been lost for want of a repository to give them a chance of living a day beyond the time they were written?—As such, the Summum Bonum of my labours is to rescue from the yawning jaws of oblivion the productions of the Bards of the Tyne; and by so doing, hand them down to future ages as Reliques of Provincial Poetry:—But, conscious of the liability of personal allusions in the generality of provincial poems, the words of the poet have been kept in mind:—

Those who may have expected a matchless collection, and find it inferior to other poetical selections, will please to think of the following Italian proverb:—

“CHI LAVA LA TESTA AL ASINO PERDE IL SAPONE.”

and accept the same from their

Obedient Servant,

THE EDITOR.

Newcastle upon Tyne, August, 1812.

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VERSES ON NORTHUMBERLAND MINSTRELSY.

BY H.R.

[1] Lively.

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SONGS.

THE NEW KEEL ROW.

By T.T.—To the old Tune.

BONNY KEEL LADDIE.

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DOL LI A.

A Song famous in Newcastle about the Years 1792-3-4.

THE TYNE.

By J. Gibson, of Newcastle.

BLACKETT’s FIELD.

BY J. SHIELD, OF NEWCASTLE.

Tune—John Anderson my Jo.

On account of the confined limits of the Parade Ground of the Loyal Newcastle Associated Corps of Volunteer Infantry, it was found necessary to lock the door during the time of drill, to prevent the crowd interfering with the evolutions of the corps.—This circumstance gave rise to the song.