Quote
"Some people resemble ballads which are only sung for a certain time."
"More solid things do not show the complexion of the times so well as Ballads and Libels."

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of England, Ireland and Scotland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Europe, and later in Australia, North Africa, North America and South America.
"Some people resemble ballads which are only sung for a certain time."
"I had rather be a kitten, and cry mew! Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers."
"Thespis, the first professor of our art, At country wakes sung ballads from a cart."
"The farmers daughter hath soft brown hair (Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese) And I met with a ballad, I cant say where, That wholly consisted of lines like these."
"A famous man is Robin Hood, The English ballad-singers joy."
"I knew a very wise man that believed that * * * if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation."