Ballad of New Scotland, A

DESCRIPTION: "Let's away to New Scotland, where Plenty sits queen O'er as happy a country as ever was seen." The abundant riches of Nova Scotia are praised, and the lack of duties and landlords is pointed out
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1750 ("The Gentleman" magazine)
KEYWORDS: emigration Canada nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1749 - First large group of English colonists embark for New Scotland. The town they built is Halifax, Nova Scotia
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke/Mills/Blume-CanadasStoryInSong, pp. 44-45, "A Ballad of New Scotland" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES [103 words]: Although fitted with an excellent melody (the magazine reports it to be "to the tune of 'King John and the Abbot of Canterbury'" -- the Derry Down tune), this song does not seem ever to have been found in tradition.
According to Laura M. McDonald, The Curse of the Narrows, p. 4, Halifax was founded in 1749 by 2576 (Protestant) settlers. It was intended primarily as a fortress against the French. It was a hard place to settle -- a basin in the midst of relatively infertile hills, with trees growing all the way down to the water -- but with a fine, sheltered, ice-free harbour that made it a natural seaport. - RBW
File: FMB044

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