In den Jahren 1924-1927 führte Drahomíra Stránská umfangreiches Sammeln von Volsliedern im westlichen Teil des Riesengebirgevorlands durch, in der Umgebung von Nová Paka (Neu Paka), Jilemnice (Starkenbach) und Vrchlabí (Hohenelbe), d. h. in der aus diesem Gesichtspunkt nur wenig erforschten Region. Die Sammlung enthält insgesamt 677 Lieder aus 22 Gemeinden.
Die Methodik der Forschung ist sehr modern: die Sammlung enthält Lebensläufe der Sänger, ihre Fotografien, die Landkarte des Sammelgebiets, Abhandlung über dortige Lebensweise. Drahomíra Stránská war leider musikalisch nicht geschult und deshalb schrieb sie nur die Texte der Lieder auf. Die Singweisen wurden erst nachträglich notiert von hiesigen Lehrern und Studenten; diese Tatsache verursachte das eher schwankende Niveau der Aufzeichnungen.
The oral tradition preserved several dozens of folk songs that arose out of the broadside ballads. In these cases the broadside ballad was shortened, the strophes that included verses and formulations not reflecting the popular experience were omitted and the vulgar words replaced by formulations typical for folk song. The tolkative character of the broadside ballad was substituted by the concise way of folk song. The texts were supplemented by folk melodies. These statements can be proved by the case of the song Such a sorrow I have, cloth trousers… that arose out of the broadside ballad. This folk song existed in many textual and melodic variants and under various incipits on the whole territory of Bohemia and parts of Moravia and Slovakia. Some formulations in the broadside ballad indicate its origin in the period of 1811–1816, while the folk song appeared for the first time in the collection of K. J. Erben from the year 1864. In published and manuscript collections were ascertained in the whole 23 textual and 18 melodic variants. The tunes come out of the traditional melodies and usually imitated some concrete folk song. The songs are mostly dance songs, in triple time, mostly in the rhythm of „sousedská“, ländler or round-and-round („kolečko“). The instrumental recordings of closing parts of some songs as well as the notes of the collectors prove that these songs accompanied the dance at dance evenings or weddings. Their humorous text and dance rhythm probably contributed to their popularity and wide spreading, especially on occasions of high-spirited wedding celebrations. The song had been preserved in oral tradition, in numerous variants, for almost 200 years, and this constitutes one of the main attributes of a folk song.