Lowlands of Holland

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The Lowlands of Holland (Roud 484) is a Scottish folk song in which a young woman sings about her husband, who was conscripted or "pressed" by the English^{[citation needed]} into an Anglo-Dutch conflict in Europe or the West Indies. In 1741 James Oswald published "Collection of Curious Scots Tunes", containing "Low Lands of Holland".^[1] This was without any words, but a broadside sheet, dated to 1776 is in the British Library.^[2] It is the 21st catalogue entry under "Lowlands of Holland". Versions of the song exist in Ireland, Scotland and at times England, and several variants of the lyrics exist. The song variously describes the young man's conscription, the woman's grief at his death and her refusal to adorn herself or marry again, and sometimes a verse where the woman's mother advises her to find a new partner, or an account of the man's ship sinking.