Many of the lovely poems of Robert Burns have been set to old Scotch airs. He saved many of the old songs, for he gathered the remains of unpublished old ballads and songs, and snatches of popular melodies, and with genius gave life to the fragments he found. In his own words, “I have collected, begged, borrowed and stolen all the songs I could meet with.” CANADIAN FOLK SONGS Canada has the folk songs of the _habitant_ which are French in character. They are very beautiful and full of romance and many of them can be traced back to France. Many, however, were born in Canada and reveal the hearts of people who lived in the great lonely spaces of a new country. ENGLISH FOLK SONGS Most of the English folk songs are very practical accounts of the doings of the people. The English seemed more interested in human beings than in Nature, like the Scotch and Irish, or in romantic love songs like the Latin races in Spain, France and Italy. The English had to be practical for they were always leaders and at the head of things, while the Scots and Irish were further away from the center and rush of life and so went to Nature for their subjects. There are about five thousand English folk songs which sing of the English milk-maid and her work, the carpenter, the hunter and his hounds, and hunting calls. They have the Morris Dance tunes, the May-day songs, the sailor’s chanties, they even sing of criminals famous in history and always very definitely tell the full name and whereabouts of a character in a song. They also have songs of poachers (those who hunt on land forbidden them), of murderers and hangmen as well as shepherds and sailors. But England’s finest songs are the Christmas carols which sing of the birth of Jesus. So, if they sang little of Nature they did sing of man and God and have given us much that is beautiful and worth while. OLD ENGLISH CAROL FROM THE TIME OF HENRY IV, OR EARLIER Lullay! lullay! lytel child, myn owyn dere fode, How xalt thou sufferin be nayled on the rode. So blyssid be the tyme! Lullay! lullay! lytel child, myn owyn dere smerte, How xalt thou sufferin the sharp spere to Thi herte? So blyssid be the tyme! Lullay! lullay! lytel child, I synge all for Thi sake, Many on is the scharpe schour to This body is schape. So blyssid be the tyme! Lullay! lullay! lytel child, fayre happis the befalle, How xalt thou sufferin to drynke ezyl and galle? So blyssid be the tyme! Lullay! lullay! lytel child, I synge al beforn, How xalt thou sufferin the scharp garlong of thorn? So blyssid be the tyme! Lullay! lullay! lytel child, gwy wepy Thou so sore, Thou art bothin God and man, gwat woldyst Thou be more? So blyssid be the tyme!