I am currently working on a book dealing with the 19th century American cowboy ballad, “The Streets of Laredo,” whose ancestry includes the Anglo-Irish ballads, “The Unfortunate Lad” and “The Bad Girl’s Lament.” I also examine the cowboy ballad’s influence on the 20th century Anglo-Irish writers, Louis MacNeice and Sam Keery as well as the English poet, Peter Riley, the pop singer, Elton John, and his lyricist, Bernie Taupin.