"The Gipsy Lass" is a ballad about a poor, wandering, and abused Roma (Gipsy) girl. Appreciating the chapbook depictions of foreigners as reflection of Scottish social values, "The Gipsy Lass" can be seen as a metaphor for the orphaned, ignored, oppressed, and marginalised in Scottish society. As a Roma girl without a permanent home or loving family, a the outcasts from Scottish society were constantly on the move, searching for acceptance and a safe place to call home, bringing with them a life story filled with pain and heartache.