The opera uses a number of folk melodies, including "The Keeper" and "Lord Randall", as well as "Bushes and Briars", which provides the theme for the intermezzo. The overture was based on Smyth's earlier composition, "The March of the Women". Reviews in "The Times" drew a distinction between the ballad opera style of part 1, with its light-hearted dialogue and songs, and the sung-through style of part 2, which they found heavy and less appropriate to the libretto. The chorus of agricultural labourers in part 1 was also praised.