For example, longer narratives such as murder ballads, and songs chronicling the many woes of the singer's life (very common in England and lowland Scotland, and later, America), were seldom seen in the Gaeldom.
Themes frequently found in Gaelic music include the great beauty and spiritual qualities of nature ("Chi Mi Na Mòrbheanna," "An Ataireachd Ard"), and laments for lost loved ones ("Fear a' Bhàta," "Ailein Duinn," "Griogal Cridhe").
Another highly prominent theme is unrequited love, separated lovers, or songs from the point of view of an admirer (usually a male in this case; "Bruach na Carraige Báine", "Moll Dubh a'Ghleanna," "Bheadh Buachaillín deas ag Síle").
Dance music, such as reels, hornpipes and jigs, usually played on the fiddle (although other instruments have been introduced, such as accordion and tin whistle), were also common; for example, the strathspey, which likely developed in the Scottish region of the same name.
In Nova Scotia, particularly Cape Breton Island, many Scottish Highlanders arrived in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and there remains a thriving Gaelic music community.