‘Do you emembe , Lo d G ego y?’:
The Agency o Memo y in Sco ish Ballads1
Thomas A.mcKean
ABSTRACT
This a icle looks a he agency o memo y and emembe ing, men al mechanisms ha se e di e se
unc ions wi hin he ballad adi ion, and which allow cha ac e s, and us as lis ene s, o shade ex-
pe ience om he pas in o he p esen , b idging ime, and dis ance, and leading us o ehea se he
u u e, as Bill Nicolaisen pu s i . The Child ballads begin amously and cha ac e is ically, in medias
es, in he middle o he ac ion, wi h ag ea deal o backs o y unknown, o , pe haps, assumed. Iha e
shown how, in some cases, he backs o y is p o ided by communal cul u al knowledge o by explici
na a ion be o e he song is sung and du ing i s pe o mance (McKean 2015), bu h ough he de ice
o ecall, he backs o y can some imes make an appea ance wi hin he body o he song, o ming
acomplex conca ena ed s uc u e ha un olds in pe o mance and upon app ehension by alis ene
in o amul i alen cons ella ion o ac ion and meaning. Iwill explo e emembe ed ac ion, ecalled
ela ionships, and e ained loyal ies in ela ion o he un olding o he ballad s o y and i s na a-
i e epe cussions, looking a how memo y se es as a ulc um, aca alys , and a na a i e de ice.
KEYWORDS:
memo y, emembe ing, Child ballads, Sco ish ballads, Sco land
Memo y is aplace. Aplace we can ge o wi h a ick o he mind. When emembe -
ing, we can sense ou sel es in aphysical space, some imes comple e wi h p op iocep-
i e sensa ions, smells, and sounds, as well as he emo ions, ha accompanied us in
he ame o ha pa icula , o iginal momen . Thus, memo y is no simply empo al
slippage om he p esen o he pas , bu can be akind o physical jou ney, a eli ing
o ime-space-place. Memo ies and emembe ings o his kind a e men al mecha-
nisms ha se e di e se unc ions wi hin he ballad adi ion, allowing cha ac e s
in he songs, and us as singe s o lis ene s, o shade expe ience om he pas in o he
p esen , b idging ime and dis ance in a ice, o in as anza a any a e.
W. F.H.Nicolaisen w i es abou how he pas is used o ame he p esen and
shape he u u e: ‘Once na a ed, he pas […] becomes pa o an expe ience which a
leas pa ially enables us o ace and cope wi h wha is coming o us […] an exis en ial
ing edien in ou s a egies o su i al’ (1984). So, he ac o emembe ing, h ough
na a i e singing as i is ealized in he ballads (see Shields 2008), gi es ballad cha -
ac e s, singe s, and lis ene s an oppo uni y o e isi he pas , i s impac upon hem,
and o epu pose ha eli ed expe ience o shape u u e ac ion.
The Child ballads begin, amously and cha ac e is ically, in medias es, in
he middle o he ac ion, wi h ag ea deal o backs o y unknown, o , pe haps,
1 My g a e ul hanks o Eilidh Whi e o d o he pe cep i e commen s on ad a o his
essay.
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116 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 1/2023
assumed.2 They a e also gene ally conside ed o un old linea ly, wi h episodes in se-
quen ial o de , d awn inexo ably o wa d by s uc u e, une, and ime. Bu h ough
he ac o emembe ing, complica ed ea u es o backs o y can appea wi hin he
ballad p esen , eminding cha ac e s o p omises made, kep and, mo e usually, in
Sco ish ballads a any a e, b oken.
The singe and lis ene a e deeply implica ed, oo, o he cha ac e s a e su o-
ga es gi en agency by hei compose s, e-c ea o s, and audiences in pe o mance.
As cha ac e s e isi he pas , e lec upon i s impac , and use i o shape hei u u e
ac ion wi hin he a c o he song, singe s and lis ene s e-c ea ing hese adi ional
songs in he p esen momen o pe o mance a e also agen s o he in a-song p ocess
o emembe ing.
These memo y episodes, as Iwill call hem, do no eally ake he cha ac e s o
lis ene s back in o adi e en ime, as a lashback in a ilm explici ly does, bu a he
b ings he pas in o he p esen , making eal in he ballad p esen he e en s o which
hey speak. Cha ac e s a e able o loop in o pas expe ience, pas ime, and e u n
again.
I is wo h no ing he inexo able low o ime as asong is pe o med. Bo h singe
and lis ene mo e h ough he song, wi h s o y, inciden , and cha ac e in cons an
lux as e ses come and go, eceding in o ecen , imp essionis ic memo y. Mem-
o y episodes, hen, o m complex s uc u es ha seem o un old diach onically in
amul i-dimensional syn hesis o ac ion and meaning, bu a e ac ually held in he
c adle o asynch onic momen . These occu ences a e hus mo e han ana a i e
oice aking ime ou o e iew he pas . Ra he , when someone ecalls pas e en s,
o apu pose, hey in e mingle ime ames, so ha pas and p esen exis oge he
in he momen o singing.
Whe he in song, o in daily li e, can such appeals o memo y help us b eak ee
o he bonds o pas and p esen ? Do hey allow he ballad cha ac e s, singe s, and lis-
ene s o use he pas in cons uc i e ways? Can hey enable imagina ion ( he u u e)
and expe ience ( he pas ) o mee ?
Be o e ge ing mo e deeply in ol ed, i is impo an o men ion ha memo y is
meaningless wi hou i s co olla y phenomenon, o ge ing. One does no exis wi h-
ou he o he and i is ha d o imagine ad ama ic s o y un olding wi hou he comple-
men a y po en ials c ea ed by he ension be ween hese wo s ands. Child goes so
a as o sugges ha , ‘The ea u e o aman being made, by magical o o he means,
o o ge a i s lo e who had done and su e ed much o him, and being suddenly
es o ed o consciousness and his o iginal p edilec ion, is o he commones occu -
ence in adi ional ales’ (‘Young Beichan’, Child 40, headno e). Na u ally, o Child,
i is aman who alls ic im o his ope, hough he ballad adi ion does ha e i s
sha e o o ge ul women.
Some imes o ge ing is in oked as aposi i e, as Child w i es in he headno e o
‘Lo d Maxwell’s Las Goodnigh ’, epo ing ha wo chie s ‘en e ed in o abond o
o ge and o gi e all ancou and malice o he pas , and o li e in ami y, hemsel es
2 Fo an explo a ion o con ex ualizing na a i es wi hin he Sco ish ballad adi ion, see
McKean 2015.
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THOmAS A.mCKEAN 117
and hei iends, in all ime coming’ (i alics mine). The peace did no las , howe e ,
as memo y easse s i sel : ‘Ali le mo e han ayea a e , apa y o Johns ones, ely-
ing, no doub , on he o bea ance o hei new ally, hen wa den o he Wes Ma ches,
“ ode as ealing”’ (‘Lo d Maxwell’s Las Goodnigh ’, Child 195, headno e).
I would be ai o conside o ge ing— loss o memo y— o be an essen ial
‘complica ing ac ion’ in P oppian e ms (1968)— p omises o go en, commi men s
o e looked, ag eemen s abandoned –elemen s wi hou which as o y simply could
no exis , o a leas no wi h any modicum o d ama ic appeal. Take, o example, he
cha ac e s in ‘Li le Musg a e’ (Child 81), all o whom o ge he expec a ions placed
on hem by hei assigned social oles. Lady Ba na d o ge s he loyal p omise o
ma iage; Musg a e abandons his du y; and Lo d Ba na d may be hough o ollow
h ough on adese ed honou killing, o be hough o ha e neglec ed his husbandly
du ies, leading his lady o s ay ( hough one suspec s ha he ba o ahusband’s
beha iou was p obably qui e low in hose eudal imes). Only he li le oo page e-
membe s his du y and, in mos people’s assessmen o he song in my expe ience,
su e s o i g ea ly, being labelled aclype, a ai o . So, emembe ing is an impo an
skill and i s opposi e apo en ial cause o much su e ing.
Ve y o en, amemo y episode can unc ion as a ulc um a he cen e o he song,
one ha p ecipi a es he nex scene, d i ing he linea na a i e o wa d and he eby
shaping he ensuing ou come.
17 Do you no emembe he caul mi ky nich
When ye we e in he yowe-buch s wi me?
(‘The B oom o he Cowdenknowes’, Child 217, Appendix, i alics mine)
Such aph ase clea ly indica es adi e gence o memo y, po en ial incompa ibili ies
o expe ience. By ques ioning he accep ed na a i e o wha happened, he s age is
se o adialogue, o some con lic and, ul ima ely, a esolu ion. This memo y epi-
sode in oduces con es ing e sions o eali y ha igge he plo and ou d aw ou
in e es o i . The whole denouemen o he song, hen, elies on his p oblema iza-
ion o he na a i e a c. Wha did happen? Who emembe s wha ? How will we ec-
oncile di e ing expe iences o he ‘same’ e en ?
P incipally, hen, we migh conside memo y episodes o be igge s o ac ion, as
hey can some imes keep he plo mo ing, o e en ge i going in he i s place, as in
‘The El in Knigh ’, when he main cha ac e says,
1 Remembe me o one who li es he e;
Fo once she was a ue-lo e o mine.
(‘The El in Knigh ’, Child 2, Co ec ions, i alics mine)
This couple se s in ain he ques ion-and-answe s uc u e so cha ac e is ic o his
song, and anumbe o o he Child ballads, mos amously ‘Lo d Randall’ (Child 12),
bu i also se s he scene on he b oken ela ionship ha lies a i s hea . Remind my
o me lo e o my exis ence, says he p o agonis , s imula ing no jus memo y, bu
esu ec ing an en angled, mys e ious, and hal - emembe ed pas ha is only e e
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hin ed a in he ex , a ich ea u e o which we will see mo e la e .
Some imes, he memo y episode plays amo e ac i e ole, o ming apa o he
na a i e i sel , a he han simply igge ing i . He e we see he ole played by o ge -
ing, which is, o all in en s and pu poses, an absence o memo y.
29 He ook sic pleasu e in dee and oe,
Till he o go his gay ladye.
30 Till by i came ha milk-whi e hynde,
And hen he mind on his ladye syne.
So, he p o agonis o ge s he one hing ha he is supposed o emembe and pays
a e y dea p ice o i , emembe ing oo la e.
31 He has ed him o yon g eenwood ee,
Fo o elie e his gay ladye;
32 Bu ound his ladye lying dead,
Likeways he young son a he head.
(‘Leesome B and’, Child 16A, i alics mine)
An e en mo e embedded and p o ac ed memo y episode is ound in so-called B o-
ken Token songs, in which acouple b eak acoin o a ing in o wo pieces o emind
hem o each o he and hei p omise o each o he , and o p o ide ameans o ce ain
iden i ica ion when hey mee yea s la e and ejoin he sunde ed objec . The mem-
o y episode can be ex ended p e y much h ough he en i e song, o ming aconnec -
ing h ead ha binds he couple (and he lis ene ) oge he h ough memo y, sha ed
expe ience, and an objec .
A imes, memo y is wielded as aweapon, as in Young Ronald (Child 304), when
he hie coun e s Ronald’s bold, h ea ening s a emen ,
47 ‘Ohe e am I,’ said young Ronald,
‘Will ake he deed in hand ;
And ye’ll gie me you daugh e dea ,
I’ll seek nane oyou land.’
The Lo d e uses o gi e in, and coun e s wi h apowe ul eminde , a aun , eally, o
Ronald’s pas wi h his dead lo e , wi h his me e men ion, d edging up pain ul mem-
o ies designed o dena u e Ronald’s ini ial h ea .
48 ‘Iwoudna o my li e, Ronald,
This day Ile you he e;
Remembe ye yon lady gay
Fo you shed mony a ea .’
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The ploy back i es, howe e , and Ronald’s appe i e o iolence is edoubled, his g ie
and passiona e so ow edi ec ed in o u y and age, his inhibi ions gone,
49 Fan he did mind on ha lady
Tha he le him behind,
He hadna mai ea o igh
No alion ae achain. (Young Ronald, Child 304)
He e memo y is deployed as acoe ci e ool o b ing abou adesi ed ou come, only
o i o ha e he comple e opposi e e ec , exace ba ing he si ua ion exponen ially.
Memo y mus be hough o as ambiguous, o , a any a e, many sided, so subjec i e
is i . Asingle si ua ion can be expe ienced and emembe ed in e y di e en ways;
weaponizing i may well ha e un o eseen and unin ended consequences.
Le us e u n now o ‘Lo d G ego y’, ‘The Lass o Roch Royal’, o ‘The Lass o
Augh im’ (Child 76), whose use o memo y episodes, p omp s, and e ec s is second
o none, o s a wi h, looking a how amemo y episode c ea es simul aneous al e na-
i es, quan um ballad eali ies.
Dae ye emembe , Lo d G ego y, ha nigh in Cape quin
When we exchangèd pocke handke chie s and ha agains my will?
You s wis ine linen, yles mine wis coo se clo h
You s cos one guinea, lo e, an mine bi ag oa .3
He e, he inc emen al epe i ion sequence, wi h escala ing signi icance and impo ,
o ms he c ux o he song, he essen ial ulc um leading o he denouemen : he un-
doing o he young woman.
Annie speaks o hei ys in Cape quin when hey exchanged okens o hei
lo e (howe e me apho ical hose okens migh be). Thus, hei p esen momen dia-
logue exis s in he same momen as he eli ed pas exis s in hei minds.
Lea e noo hese windaes an likewise his ha
Fe i ’s deep in he sea ye should ind ye doon a.
esponds ‘G ego y’ om wi hin. The cha ac e s a e p esen and in dialogue, albei on
opposi e sides o adoo physically. Bu he e is an added, complica ing dimension,
a wis ing o eali ies, again akind o quan um s a e, in which wo e y di e en con-
e sa ions a e happening a he same ime. In ou i s imaginings, Annie is ha ing
asimple dialogue wi h Lo d G ego y inside he cas le, bu in ac , on he o he side o
he doo s ands G ego y’s mo he , dissembling, p e ending o be him in o de o o ce
Annie away, o sa e he son om ma ying below his s a ion. Thus, he wo e y di -
e en ly weigh ed con e sa ions, occupying he same space— Annie-Lo d G ego y
3 This and subsequen quo es om ‘The Lass o Roch Royal’ a e my own e sion o he song
unless no ed o he wise. My e sion is based on ha o he g ea Fe managh singe , Ca hal
McConnell om whom Ilea ned i in he 1990s.
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120 STUDIA ETHNOLOGICA PRAGENSIA 1/2023
and Annie-mo he — a e simul aneous and concu en , and h ee cha ac e s, albei
one physically absen , c ea e wo dialogues. In asub e si e way, his scene b eaks
Axel Ol ik’s ‘Law o Two o aScene’ (1965) o he e a e, o all in en s and pu poses,
h ee cha ac e s playing he scene, al hough o he audience he e a e only wo.
The inc emen al epe i ion sequence is gi en mo e space in some e sions o he
song, such as Child 76A, which emphasizes he idea o memo y as akind o Shibbo-
le h, a e bal es o iden i y, bu one sub e ed by powe dynamics associa ed wi h
he socio-economic imbalance be ween Annie and G ego y’s mo he , who ies de-
libe a ely o unde mine Annie’s con idence wi h his dissembling se up ques ion:
11 ‘I you be he lass o he Roch oyall,
As I ow no you be,
You will ell me some o ou lo e- okens,
Tha was be wix you and me.’
Wha ollows is asequence o inc emen al epe i ions in which Annie bids he sup-
posed G ego y o emembe wha hey ha e sha ed,
12 ‘Ha e you no mind, Lo e G ego y,
Since we sa a he wine;
When we changed he ings o ou inge s,
And ay he wo s ell mine? (‘The Lass o Roch Royal’, Child 76A)
Acompa ison o he ings and pieces o clo hing hey exchanged ollows in some e -
sions (Child 76G, . 13–16), wi h G ego y’s mo he unde mining he alue o each
oken, and by ex ension, Annie he sel along wi h he claim o G ego y’s a ec ions.
In an in iguing and a ul way, while os ensibly abou iden i y and u h, his
epe i ion is eally abou dissembling, disloyal y, and spi e, o he pe son in dia-
logue wi h Annie is no , as she supposes, Lo d G ego y himsel , bu a he his mo he
who is simply ying o d i e he away. The mo he ’s spi e and malice come h ough
clea ly in he esponses o Annie’s emembe ed momen s o he and G ego y’s ime
oge he , momen s in which she’s keenly awa e o he social dis ance be ween hem.
Fo he , he lo e be ween hem o e comes his gul . Pe haps o G ego y, oo, bu his
mo he , dissembling h ough he unopened doo , emphasises hei social dispa i y by
c ea ing and a e ing acoun e memo y o each o Annie’s p oposi ions. Two di e -
en e sions o asingle mee ing, one emembe ed, he o he c ea ed, wo co-exis ing
eali ies in e ec , con on each o he h ough he closed doo . Unsu p isingly, he
la e , hough wholly alse, wins he day, backed as i is by social powe and s a us,
a aluable lesson abou he ela i e powe and mu able ce ain y o ‘ u h’, si ua ed
as i is in he hegemonic con ex o socie al no ms and s uc u es. Annie lea ns, o
he eg e , ha all he expe ien ial u h in he wo ld is no ma ch o es ablished
o hodoxies and she pays dea ly o i .
So, he single pas ha hese cha ac e s sha e is ealised in adelibe a ely bi u -
ca ed eali y. Annie is he ejec ed woman, in despe a ion o he sa e y o he baby
and he sel , while G ego y’s mo he is d i en by possessi e jealousy and unb idled
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ha ed o awoman she conside s o a oo low asocial s anding o he son. As
a as Annie is conce ned, she is e-li ing, e-membe ing, while he mo he is li -
ing and c ea ing anew eali y, one wi hou ancho in expe ience, an opposi ional
mechanism ha gi es he scene immense poignancy and powe , a e y simple means
o acomplica ed end which allows wo eali ies o exis a once, ashioned by mem-
o y, emembe ing, and na a ion. Annie li es he eali y wi h he hope o apossible
posi i e ou come, while he mo he , holding he powe o agedy in he duplici ous
oice embodies an inexo able complica ing ac ion which in u n leads o ine i able
disas e . And as wi h all g ea agedies, he singe and he lis ene s a e p i y o bo h
wo lds and hus can see and eel he p e en able, ye ine i able disas e un old om
his ulc um momen .
O cou se, G ego y’s mo he knows exac ly wha she is doing and sings he de-
si ed ou come in o eali y in ap edic i e, almos spell-like ashion, epea ing he
esponse and calling on social mo es o adju e Annie o ‘do he igh hing’ and d own
he sel : ‘I ’s deep in he sea ye should ind ye doon a’. And in ha ph ase, we ind
akind o e e se memo y, ap edic i e ehea sal o he mo he ’s desi ed u u e ha
W.F.H.Nicolaisen sugges s is one way ha we cope wi h hings ha a e o come and
also how we make hings we wish o happen— ehea sing he u u e, he calls i —
much like psychologis s encou age spo s people o isualise success, he achie e-
men o hei goals.
I is o en said ha he ac ion in he Child ballads un olds in alinea way, indeed
his is some imes no ed as one o hei key cha ac e is ics. Bu wi h he use o mem-
o y episodes, he cha ac e s, while no hemsel es mo ing back h ough ime, quickly
a ail hemsel es o he now, he p esen , and he pas and o en ano he physical
space, o place. Thus, he ballad is no eally alinea o m, bu a he an in e nally
poly-ch onic one ha kni s and pu ls h ough ime, eaching back, s i ing o wa d,
all h ough na iga ing, emembe ing, and in lec ing he ac ion o he p esen mo-
men . In ac ing ou in he now, wi hin he li ed ime ame o ali e song pe o mance,
he cha ac e s need all he ools hey can ge ; memo y is one o hem, used o e lec ,
ebuke, emind, al e ano he ’s cou se o ac ion, o encou age conside a ion be o e
a(possibly has y) decision is made.
Fo ano he look a how memo y episodes c ea e al e na e eali ies wi hin he
wo ld o asong, i is use ul o look a ‘Ba ba a Allan’ (Child 84), common hough
i is. Mos e sions o he song ell aqui e mys e ious s o y, ac ually, o asong so
widesp ead and well-known: Ba ba a Allan goes o see he dying lo e and when old
ha asingle kiss would cu e him, u ns away, spu ning him and lea ing him o die.
Clea ly aha d-hea ed and c uel woman. Bu , his is an ins ance whe e adi e en
e sion o he same song illumina es amys e y ha ul ima ely explains he beha -
iou , comple ely changing ou pe spec i e, as as anza om S anley Robe son shows:
Bi I emembe lang ago,
A-d inkin in he a e n
When ye an aa ye cou hy iends
When ye sligh ed Ba ba a Allan.
(Robe son, ‘Ba ba a Allan’, Child 84)
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Some ime be o e, John had e used o acknowledge Ba ba a in public, pe haps being
o adi e en social class, o a leas no conside ed sui able in some way, whe he by
John himsel , o by his iends.
Ba ba a and John ha e been on wo e y di e en ajec o ies o memo y since he
inciden in he a e n, abi u ca ion ha acili a es, o e en necessi a es, he denoue-
men . Fo John, i was acasual nigh ou wi h his iends, he cama ade ie was good,
d ink was d unk, and p obably, o use aGlasgow exp ession, hey had such agood
ime ha hey ‘cannae mind a hing’.
Fo Ba ba a, he key ea u e, in he memo y, one comple ely absen om his, is
he lack o acknowledgemen om John. We ne e know why his dicho omy exis s,
whe he i is simply ha he was w apped up wi h his pals, ha ing agood ime, o
whe he he e is asocial sub ex whe eby he did no eel com o able acknowledging
he in apublic se ing. Wha e e he case, he expe ience o he e ening inciden di -
e s comple ely om his. In ac , o him, i is emembe ed as asimple nigh o un
wi hou inciden , while o he i is acon on a ion, amomen ha became amemo y,
laid down in he b ain because some hing signi ican happened o he , some hing ha
causes he immense pain and se s he on cou se o he ballad’s c ucial ea u e: he
inexo able pa h o denial.
In his case, memo y plays some icks on us and he cha ac e s. Wi h hese wo
opposed na a ed eali ies o hand, we see wo hings. Fi s , in he ecollec ion o
he e en , clea ly di e en om his, we ge an explana ion o Ba ba a’s beha iou
in he un up o he bedside encoun e . We see why she hea d he bells inging
and did no go o his bedside, illed wi h hu , and possibly esen men , as she is.
Second, i is clea om he emembe ed and ecoun ed episode ha ashowdown is
coming. In some e sions, i is unclea whe he hey eally e en had a ela ionship,
o whe he i was mu ual admi a ion ha was cu o ( o he ) by his beha iou in
he a e n and consumma ed men ally (by him) as he de eloped un-ac ed-upon
eelings o he .
In any case, hei di e en , possibly equally alid, emembe ed ‘ eali ies’ lead o
di e consequences, he dea h o bo h o hem. Thus, memo y and i s in usion in o
he song wo- hi ds o he way h ough has some p e y se ious consequences.
Clea ly, wha we emembe , how we emembe i , how long we emembe , and o whom
we ell i can all ha e se ious implica ions o ou li es, and, indeed, ou dea hs. A -
e John’s dea h, Ba ba a eg e s ha he has passed, maybe no he decision, bu his
dea h, a any a e. In e sions o he song wi hou he a e n inciden memo y e ses,
Child 84B, o example, he lis ene is le wi h amuch less sympa he ic imp ession
o Ba ba a— ‘ha d-hea ed Ba ba a Allan’, as she is s yled. (Na u ally, asinge ’s o
lis ene ’s pe sonal expe ience o oman ic lo e, loyal y, and disloyal y, can s ongly
colou hese eac ions, as well.)
So, he memo y episode e ses in his song so en ou judgemen o Ba ba a,
hough we can s ill see ha she is ough as nails, s icking o he p inciples wha -
e e he cos . We can a gue abou whe he ha cos is oo g ea , o John o Ba ba a,
o bo h, o indeed ou sel es as lis ene s, bu he con ic ion is abo e ep oach. Bu
he e is mo e o i han simply s eng h o con ic ion. We can see Ba ba a as awoman
sco ned, may be, bu also awoman hu . In his way, he mechanism o memo y,
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THOmAS A.mCKEAN 123
h ough o e ing us awindow in o he pas — ano he place, ano he ime— changes
no jus ou sense o wha ac ually happened in he a e n ha nigh , bu ou e y
pe cep ions o igh and w ong in a undamen al way.
Asimila impac on he ‘ ac s’ ha we ake away om asong can be seen in ‘Lo d
Ba na d and Li le Musg a e’ (Child 81), no ed abo e, in which he cha ac e s o Lady
Ba na d, Li le Musg a e, and Lo d Ba na d could each be aken as doing he igh
hing, o , con e sely, abnega ing hei esponsibili ies o hei social class, depend-
ing on whe e one is in he song and whose pe spec i e— and associa ed beha iou al
no ms— is o eg ounded. Thus, memo y ains and shapes ou sense o igh and
w ong in he p esen and builds wo lds in which we make con ingen decisions in
and o he now.
In he ballads, memo y’s ole is la gely o s imula e a eac ion in he p esen mo-
men . Cha ac e s quo e he pas no o eminisce and sha e o pas expe ience, bu
a he o spu on he ac ion, o ano he cha ac e , o o con ibu e some hing o he
s uc u e, such as aP oppian Complica ing Ac ion o Resolu ion, in he ballad p esen ,
he momen in ime in which he s anza is being sung. Thus, in hese cases, he ballad
u u e is c ea ed ou o he pas , as Nicolaisen sugges s is he case wi h na a i e. Plo
mo emen is hea ily dependen on his agency, his gene a i e powe .
The mechanism o memo y allows us, and he ballad cha ac e s, o use he pas
in signi ican ways, c ea ing ame ana a i e in which he pas becomes p esen and
is eused in he he e and now, changing he cou se o ou p esen as we c ea e he
u u e ha we will expe ience and ha we wish o y and shape.
E en o he song collec o , ou side he bounds o he song i sel , memo y plays
an impo an ole. The singe mus emembe ; he collec o u ges hem o do so. The
e y exis ence o he song in he w i en o audio eco d hinges on memo y. Memo y
o he schola , he singe , and o he ballad cha ac e , hen, is no abou pas ac ion
bu abou he now, p o iding achance o e lec ion, while also p o iding he audi-
ence wi h abacks o y and an explana ion o mo i a ion o he cha ac e s in he
complex, laye ed ballad p esen .
The e is an in e es ing co olla y unc ion o memo y and emembe ing in he
wo ld o he singe and lis ene , as pe o mance is alinea , ime-d i en exe cise.
We hea he plo being se ou in eal ime, whose uns oppable passage eigns. We
emembe wha we can and ou in e p e a ion is based on he pa icula aspec s
o plo ha we emembe well enough o dwell upon. Memo y episodes ee us, as
lis ene s, and compose /singe s o adi ional songs, om he s ai jacke o lin-
ea i y, wi h in oduc ion and conclusions emana ing om he cen al co e o an
episode, all ha p ecedes and ollows o bi ing ha hub, a ulc um o pas and p es-
en conca ena ed. So, eally he e is no p esen , only apas and a u u e. In his no
man’s land o exis ence, any hing can happen, and ideas can achie e he eedom
hey need o allow us o each ou ull po en ial, as we c ea e he u u e ou o he
pas (Glassie 1995, 395). This unc ion is, Ibelie e, key o why ballads e ain hei
appeal e en oday: complexi ies, ambigui ies, and laye s o meaning ha can be
long deba ed.
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