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ENGLISH 

FOLK-CAROLS 


WITH    PIANOFORTE    ACCOMPANIMENT 

AND  AN    INTRODUCTION 

AND    NOTES 


COLLECTED    IN   VARIOUS    PARTS    OF   ENGLAND 


CECIL    J.    SHARP 


^^:. 


LonDon: 

NOVELLO  &  CO.,  LTD.  SIMPKIN  &  CO.,  LTD. 

TAUNTON  :   BARNICOTT  AND  PEARCE,  THE  WESSEX  PRESS 


•£   NEW    YO«K 

?LlC  LIBRARY 

tMTm,  tENQX   ANO 

nL»fcM  f»un»ati*n». 


barnicott  and 
printer; 


RALPH    VAUGHAN     WILLIAMS. 


PREFACE. 


HE  Sditor  wishes  to  thank^  jirst  of  all^ 
those  singers^  many  of  them  of  great 
age^  who^  i?i  allowing  him  to  note  down 
their  songs^  have  provided  him  with  the  material 
for  this  volume  ;  their  names  are  recorded  in  the 
^H^tes.  ^nd^  secondly^  he  would  thank  the  ?nany 
kind  friends  who  in  various  ways  have  aided  him 
in  his  investigations^  making  special  mention  of 
Mrs.  Stanton,  3^1  is  s  K^  Sorhy,  Miss  Eliza 
IVedgwood  and  Mr.  Robin   Hammond. 


INTRODUCTION 


HE  term  "Carol"  is  not  an  easy  one  to  define.  The  Rev. 
H.  R.  Bramley's  definition — a  kind  of  popular  song  appro- 
priated to  some  special  season  of  the  ecclesiastical  or  natural 
year — is,  perhaps,  the  best  that  has  been  devised  ;  it  is,  at  any 
rate,  wide  enough  to  embrace  all  the  songs  in  this  collection. 
Formerly  there  existed  carols  associated  with  Easter  {e.g.  "  The  Moon 
shines  bright")  and  other  festivals  of  the  Church's  year  ;  but  the  carol  of 
the  present  day  is  almost  invariably  connected  with  the  season  of  Christmas. 

Unhappily,  like  many  another  ancient  traditional  custom,  that  of 
Christmas  carol  singing  by  parties  of  men  and  women  in  the  village  streets 
is  gradually  disappearing.  At  one  time,  and  not  so  very  long  ago,  the 
number  of  carols  that  were  sung  in  this  way  in  diff^erent  parts  of  England 
must  have  been  very  large,  to  judge  by  the  carol  broadsheets  and  chap-books 
that  have  been  preserved.  Hone,  too,  in  his  Ancient  Mysteries  Described 
(pp.  97-9),  quotes  the  first  lines  of  no  less  than  eighty-nine  carols,  all  of 
which,  he  says,  were  then,  i.e.  1822,  being  annually  printed.  Several  of 
the  carols  in  Hone's  list  are  included  in  this  collection,  viz. — Nos.  i,  5,  6, 
7,  8,  10,  12,  13,  14,  15,  18  and  19  ;  perhaps  also  Nos.  2  and  21.  Probably 
all,  or  very  nearly  all  the  words  of  the  carols  mentioned  by  Hone  might 
still   be  traced  ;   of  the  tunes,  however,  to  which   they  were   traditionally 


sung,  many,  it  is  feared,  have  been  irretrievably  lost.  This  is  not  surprising, 
when  it  is  realized  how  intimately  the  Christmas  carol  is  associated  in  the 
minds  of  folk-singers  with  the  custom  of  house-to-house  singing,  already 
referred  to.  Only  a  few  weeks  ago  I  asked  two  old  men  who  were  singing 
to  me  whether  they  knew  a  certain  carol.  One  of  them  said  that  he  did  ; 
the  other,  the  elder  of  the  two,  shook  his  head  doubtfully.  Whereupon  the 
younger  singer  stood  up  and,  dragging  his  companion  up  beside  him,  said 
encouragingly  :  "  Stand  up,  and  think  you've  got  snow  in  your  boots,  and 
it'll  come  to  you  all  right."     And  it  did  ! 

In  several  parts  of  England  I  have  found  carols  which  are  peculiar 
to  certain  villages,  by  the  inhabitants  of  which  they  are  regarded  as 
private  possessions  of  great  value,  to  be  jealously  guarded  and  retained 
for  their  own  use.  These  are  not  traditional  or  folk-carols  but  the 
elementary  compositions  of  simple  musicians,  very  possibly  of  those  who 
in  the  old  days  were  members  of  the  Church  bands.  They  are  easily  dis- 
tinguished from  the  popular  carol  by  the  formal  nature  of  the  music  and 
words,  and  also  by  the  fact  that  many  of  them  are  written  in  parts.  Some 
of  these  compositions  are  by  no  means  without  merit.  The  melodies,  if 
not  inspired,  are  usually  strong  and  sincere,  and,  plainly,  the  expression  ot 
genuine  feeling.  The  following  example,  which  may  be  taken  as  fairly 
representative  of  the  type,  was  noted  at  Armscote,  a  small  hamlet  in 
Worcestershire. 


of  the         year,  The      hap     -     pi  -  est     of  the         year. 


2.     Deck  every  hearth  with  holly  green, 
Let  not  a  care  intrude, 
But  Christian  love  and  joy  be  seen 

And  heartfelt  gratitude. 


3-      For  sad  indeed  had  been  our  case, 

Most  piteous  and  forlorn, 

No  hope  for  pardon  or  for  grace. 

Had  Jesus  not  been  born. 
4.      My  song  is  done,  I  must  be  gone, 

I  can  stay  no  longer  here  ; 

God  bless  you  all,  both  great  and  small, 

And  send  vou  a  happy  New  Year. 

This,  while  it  lacks  the  freshness,  the  naivete,  and  indeed  pretty  nearly 
all  the  typical  and  characteristic  qualities  of  the  folk-carol,  is  nevertheless 
quite  as  good  as  some,  and  far  better  than  many  of  the  modern  Christmas 
hymns  annually  sung  in  fashionable  Churches  and  Chapels. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  branch  of  folk-music  in  the  creation  of  which  the 
unconscious  art  of  the  peasant  is  seen  to  greater  advantage  than  the  carol. 
For  his  peculiar  and  most  characteristic  qualities,  mental  and  emotional,  are 
precisely  those  which  in  this  case  are  most  needed — his  passion  for  simple, 
direct  statement,  his  dislike  of  ornament  and  of  the  tricks  of  circumlocution, 
his  abhorrence  of  sentimentality,  and  above  all  his  courage  in  using,  without 
hesitation,  the  obvious  and  commonplace  phrase,  of  words  or  music,  when 
by  its  means  the  required  expression  can  most  easily  be  realized.  What 
cultivated  musician  would  dare  to  set  to  such  words  as  "The  Virgin 
Unspotted  "  the  graceful,  flowing,  3-time  melody  given  in  this  collection, 
even  if  he  had  the  luck  or  skill  to  think  of  it  ?  What,  again,  could  be 
more  concise  in  its  diction  or  clearer  in  its  meaning,  than  the  last  stanza  in 
"King  Herod  and  the  Cock,"  or  more  vivid  than  the  following  lines  in 
"  The  New  Year's  Carol  "  ?— 

Then  Christ  He  called  Thomas 

And  bid  him  :   Come  and  see 

And  put  thy  fingers  in  the  wounds 

That  are  in  my  body  ; 

And  be  not  faithless,  but  believe  ! 

And  happy  shalt  thou  be — 

which  will,  I  venture  to  think,  bear  comparison  with  the  parallel  stanza  of 
the  Easter  carol  "  Ye  Sons  and  Daughters,"  translated  by  Neale. 

It  is  just  his  transparent  sincerity,  his  freedom  from  affectation,  self- 
consciousness    and    conventional    restrictions,    that    makes    the    unlettered 


rustic  pre-eminently  fitted  to  translate  into  music  and  poetry  the  dramatic 
incidents  of  the  Christ  story.  His  simplicity  disarms  criticism  ;  just  as  his 
pious,  intense,  child-like  belief  in  every  detail  ot  the  Gospel  narrative 
banishes  scepticism.  Nor  did  he  trouble  himself  about  the  place  of  per- 
formance ;  village  Church  or  village  inn — it  mattered  not.  A  tune,  so 
long  as  it  expressed  his  feeling,  harmonized  with  the  sense  and  fitted  the 
metre  of  the  words,  served  his  purpose  wherever  and  whenever  it  was 
destined  to  be  sung. 

Even  when,  in  later  days,  his  carols  suffered  from  the  intrusion  of  theo- 
logical doctrine,  he  somehow  managed  to  avoid  the  religious  emotionalism 
of  the  revivalist.  Take,  for  instance,  the  tune  of  "  The  Little  Room  " 
given  in  this  collection  ;  note  the  noble  sweep,  the  severe  grandeur  of  its 
phrases  and  compare  it  with  the  air  to  which  those  words  would  be  set  in 
a  mission  hymn-book. 

The  folk-carol  defies  imitation.  A  skilled  musician,  saturated  in  the 
literature  of  his  country's  folk-music  might,  conceivably,  make  a  folk-song 
without  betraying  himself;  but  it  seems  impossible  that  he  could  imitate  a 
popular  carol  and  escape  detection. 

There  is,  then,  every  reason  why  we  should  do  all  that  is  possible,  while 
there  is  yet  time,  to  collect  and  publish  our  traditional  carols  ;  for  in  them 
we  have  a  unique  possession,  a  national  heritage  of  inestimable  worth. 

C.J.  s. 

'Dragonficld^  Uxbridge, 

d^vembet\  1 9 1 1 . 


CONTENTS 


Preface 
Introduction- 
Carols  : 
T 
[1 
III 
IV 
V 
VI 
VII 
VIII 
IX 
X 
XI 
XII 
XIII 
XIV 
XV 
XVI 
XVII 
XVIII 
XIX 
XX 
XXI 
Notes  on  the  Songs 


King  Herod  and  the  Cock  (Worcestershire) 

The  Bitter  Withy  (Gloucestershire)    . 

The  Cherry  Tree,  B'irst  Version  (Gloucestershire) 

The  Cherry  Tree,  Second  Version  (Worcestershire) 

The  Moon  shines  Bright  (Warwickshire) 

God  Bless  you  Merry  Gentlemen  (Cambridgeshire) 

The  Holly  and  the  Ivy  (Gloucestershire) 

The  Sinner's  Redemption  (Warwickshire) 

Come  all  you  true  good  Christians  (Gloucestershire) 

On  Christmas  Night  (Gloucestershire) 

Come  all  you  worthy  Gentlemen  (Somerset) 

As  I  sat  on  a  Sunny  Bank,  First  Version  (Gloucestershire) 

As  I  sat  on  a  Sunny  Bank,  Second  Version  (Worcestershire) 

The  Ten  Joys  of  Mary  (Somerset) 

The  Virgin  Unspotted  (Gloucestershire) 

Sons  of  Levi  (Kent) 

The  Little  Room 

The  Truth  sent  from  above 

The  Twelve  Apostles 

New  Year's  Carol 

Wassail  Song 


PAGE 

ix 


ENGLISH  FOLK-CAROLS. 


I.     KING  HEROD  AND  THE  COCK. 


P  e  legato. 


^-,^-=f=^=i=^=5^-i-=i^^=^ 


Da  -  vid's    land    ap  -  peared ;  And        in  King  He  ■  rod's  cham      -      ber 


spi  -  ed       it,     And      told    the    King     a    -    nigh  That    a     Prince   -  ly  Babe    was 


roast   -  ed  cock  that      lies       in   the  dish     Shall     crow    full        sen  ■  ses        three. 


4.  O  the  cock  soon  thrustened  and     fea  -  thered  well,    By  the  work  of     God's  own 
s/z  '  s/z  sfi        ^^^ 


# 


KING  HEROD  AND  THE  COCK. 

1  There  was  a  star  in  David's  land, 
In  David's  land  appeared  ; 

And  in  King  Herod's  chamber 
So  bright  it  did  shine  there. 

2  The  Wise  Men  they  soon  spi-ed  it, 
And  told  the  King  a-nigh 

That  a  Princely  Babe  was  born  that  night, 
No  King  shall  e'er  destroy. 

3  If  this  be  the  truth,  King  Herod  said. 
That  thou  hast  told  to  me, 

The  roasted  cock  that  lies  in  the  dish 
Shall  crow  full  senses  three. 


4     O  the  cock  soon  thrustened  and  feathered  well, 
By  the  work  of  God's  own  hand, 
And  he  did  crow  full  senses  three 
In  the  dish  where  he  did  stand. 


II.     THE   BITTER   WITHY. 


giE^N^^gip^ 


THE  BITTER  WITHY. 

As  it  fell  out  on  a  bright  holiday,  2      At  ball  !   at  ball  !   my  own  dear  Son  ! 

Small  hail  from  the  sky  did  fall  ;  It  is  time  that  you  were  gone  ; 

Our  Saviour  asked  His  mother  dear  And  don't  let  me  hear  of  any  doings 

If  he  may  go  and  play  at  ball.  At  night  when  you  come  home. 

3  So  up  Lincull  and  down  Lincull 
Our  sweetest  Saviour  ran, 

And  there  He  met  three  rich  young  lords  : 
Good  morning  !   to  you  all. 

4  Good  morn  !   good  morn  !  good  morn  !   said  they  : 
Good  morning  !   then  said  He, 

0  which  of  you  three  rich  young  men 
Will  play  at  ball  with  me  ? 

5  We  are  all  lords' and  ladies'  sons. 
Born  in  our  bower  and  hall  ; 

And  Thou  art  nothing  but  a  poor  maid's  child, 
Born  in  an  ox's  stall. 

6  If  you're  all  lords'  and  ladies'  sons, 
Born  in  your  bower  and  hall, 

1  will  make  you  believe  in  your  latter  end  ; 
I'm  an  angel  above  you  all. 

7  So  He  made  Him  a  bridge  with  the  beams  of  the  sun, 
And  o'er  the  water  crossed  He. 

These  rich  young  lords  followed  after  Him, 
And  drowned  they  were  all  three. 

8  Then  up  Lincull  and  down  Lincull 
These  young  lords'  mothers  ran, 

Saying  :    Mary  mild,  fetch  home  your  child, 
For  ours  He  has  drowned  all. 

So  Mary  mild  fetched  home  her  child  10     O  withy  !    O  withy  !  O  bitter  withy  ! 
And  laid  Him  across  her  knee  ;  Thou  hast  caused  Me  to  smart  ; 

With  a  handful  of  green  withy  twigs  And  the  withy  shall  be  the  very  first  tree 

She  gave  Him  slashes  three.  That  shall  perish  at  the  heart  ! 


III.     THE  CHERRY  TREE. 


FIRST    VERSION. 


::t,t 


m:t^^^i3^^=r^-i-=i=f:^^s^^imm 


old  man        was  he ;  And        Jo    -    seph      mar  -  ried    Ma     ■     ry,  The 


^4*^ — ^- 

-=-T-.           ^-=- \ 1 

H  4        1       ^^=> 

Jo    -    seph 

To     -     ge     -      ther     did            go,                    And 

^i— *       ^  '—1 

there      they       saw  a 

ftf-^^'-^ 

T=5^=^~^ 

m-f^'     - 

^-^^^  ^— p=^-^-^^ 

=^^- — q— ^ — r? — ^ \ — 

-4 — 1 -J 1 

^f-± 

^^-^r  r    f^=^^=^ 

^^-=H 

(/rt/  5/"H(!.        iaj/  2 


l^^=,3JE^^^g" 


cher-ry  tree,    Both     red,    white  and     green. 


# 


PJ 


iil^pgii^^ 


-.u 


ii^iiiiii 


CHERRY  TREE  CAROL. 


FIRST     VERSION. 


Joseph  was  an  old  man 
And  an  old  man  was  he  ; 
And  Joseph  married  Mary, 
The  Queen  of  Galilee. 

Mary  and  Joseph 

Together  did  go, 

And  there  they  saw  a  cherry  tree. 

Both  red,  white  and  green. 

Then  up  speaks  Mary, 

So  meek  and  so  mild  : 

O  gather  me  cherries,  Joseph, 

l'"or  I  am  with  child. 


Then  up  speaks  Joseph 
With  his  words  so  unkind  : 
Let  them  gather  thee  cherries 
That  brought  thee  with  child. 

Then  up  speaks  the  little  Child 
In  his  own  mother's  womb  : 
'Bow  down,  you  sweet  cherry  tree, 
And  give  my  mother  some. 

Then  the  top  spray  of  the  cherry  tree 
Bowed  down  to  her  knee  : 
And  now  you  see,  Joseph, 
There  are  cherries  for  me. 


IV.     THE  CHERRY  TREE. 


Andanli  moJerjta. 


SECOND    VERSION. 


THE  CHERRY  TREE. 

SECOND    VERSION. 


1  Joseph  was  an  old  man, 
And  old  man  was  he  ; 
He  married  with  Mary, 
The  Queen  of  Glory. 

2  Joseph  took  Mary 
In  the  orchard  wood, 

Where  there  were  apples,  plums,  cherries, 
As  red  as  any  blood. 

3  Then  bespoke  Mary, 
So  meek  and  so  mild  : 
Get  me  some  cherries 

For  my  body's  bound  with  child. 


4  Joseph  he's  taken 
These  words  so  unkind  : 

Let  them  get  you  cherries,  Mary, 
That  did  your  body  bind. 

5  Then  bespoke  Jesus, 

All  in  His  mother's  womb  : 
Go  to  the  tree,  Mary, 
And  it  shall  bow  down  ; 

6  The  highest  bough  of  the  cherry  tree 
Shall  bow  down  to  Mary's  knee. 
And  she  shall  have  cherries 

For  her  young  Son  and  she. 


7      Mary  got  cherries 

By  one,  two  and  three  ; 

Mary  got  cherries 

For  her  young  Son  and  she. 


V.     THE   MOON  SHINES   BRIGHT. 


Andante  maestoso. 


¥ 


1—1  '  dim.    "^  -^         I  J 


THE  MOON  SHINES  BRIGHT. 


The  moon  shines  bright  and  the  stars 

give  a  light 
A  little  before  it  is  day  ; 
Our  Lord  our  God  he  called  on  us 
And  bids  us  awake  and  pray. 

3     The  fields  were  green,  as  green  could  be. 
When  we  from  His  glory  fell  ; 
And  we  His  children  then  were  brought 
To  death  and  near  to  hell. 


2     Awake  !   O  awake  1  good  people  all, 
Awake  !  and  you  shall  hear, 
Our  Lord  our  God  He  suffered  oi 

the  cross 
For  us  whom  He  loved  so  dear. 


The  life  of  a  man  it  is  but  a  span, 

It's  like  a  morning  flower  ; 

We're  here  to  day,  to-morrow  we  are 

gone, 
We  are  dead  all  in  one  hour. 


6  To-day  you  may  be  living,  dear  man, 
With  a  many  thousand  pound  ; 
To-morrow  you   may  be  dead,  dear 

man, 
And  your  corpse  lie  underground. 

7  With  the  green  turf  at  your  head,  dear 
man. 

And  another  at  your  feet  ; 

Your  good  deeds  and  your  bad,  dear  man, 

Will  all  together  meet. 

My  song  it  is  done  and  I  must  be  gone, 
No  longer  can  I  stay  here. 
God  bless  you  all,  both  great  and  small, 
And  send  you  a  happy  New  Year. 


O  teach  them  well  your  children,  dear 

man. 
While  you  have  got  them  here  ; 
It  will  be  better  for  your  soul,  dear  man 
When  your  corpse  lies  on  the  bier. 


VI.     GOD  BLESS  YOU,  MERRY  GENTLEMEN. 


AUegj-o  moderate. 


God        bless   you,     mer   -  ry        gen  -  tie  -  men,  Let 

-  way     they    went     to        Beth  ■  le  ■  hem,  Where 


i— h 

i— h^ — i — i- 

-^r- 

=p 

— i r~A 

no  •  thing   you      dis 
our     sweet    Sa  -  viour 

may; 

•  ')■; 

-H- 

L_^ 

Re   -    mem  -  ber    Christ 
They     found  Him     in 

H — \ — r-f-^ — i — zh 

-•— 

a 

Sa    - 
man 

^ 

-   our     Was 
ger.  Where 

P-4-^~f^r- 

^ 

^^=^ 

^f.     ^- 

^.- 

f^ 

=j^^ 

^^?^F_f=FE^^ 

^-^ — 

-\ — f^-' — 1— f * — A— 

-1^?- 

— 

}  Vlf 


born     on    Christ  -  mas      Day 
en      feed     with       hay ; 


To        save    poor    souls  from         Sa  ^  tan's  power,  That 
The       Bles  -  sed      Vir  •   gin         Ma        -         ry     Kneel 


S    Tthe    for^dfd-     p^n^^hichbrings      ti     -     dings 


com     -     fort     and 


tem  -   pest,    storm     and      wind, 
round     ihe        ta    -     ble        go ; 


Straight-way      they    went      to        Beth  -  le  -   hem     The 
God    bless     their  friends   and        kin      -       dred,     That 


H 


GOD  BLESS  YOU,  MERRY  GENTLEMEN. 

I      God  bless  you,  merry  gentlemen. 
Let  nothing  you  dismay  ; 
Re  ncmber  Christ  our  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  Day 
To  save  poor  souls  from  Satan's  power. 
That  long  have  gone  astray — 
Which  brings  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 

Joy  and  joy, 
Which  brings  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy. 


15 


The  shepherds  brought  these  tidings 

And  rejoiced  much  in  mind  ; 

They  left  their  flocks  a-feeding 

In  tempest,  storm  and  wind. 

Straightway  they  went  to  Bethlehem 

The  Son  of  God  to  find — 

Which  brings  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 

Joy  and  joy. 
Which  brings  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy. 

Straightway  they  went  to  Bethlehem, 
Where  our  sweet  Saviour  lay  ; 
They  found  Him  in  a  manger. 
Where  oxen  feed  with  hav  ; 
The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
Kneeling  to  the  Lord  did  pray  — 
Which  brings  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy, 

Joy  and  joy, 
Which  brings  tidings  of  comfort  and  joy. 

God  bless  the  Master  of  this  house 

And  Mis-ter-ess  also  ; 

God  bless  the  little  children 

That  round  the  table  go  ; 

God  bless  their  friends  and  kindred, 

That  come  from  far  and  near  ; 

May  the  Lord  send  a  happy  New  Year, 

Happy  New  Year, 
May  the  Lord  send  a  happy  New  Year. 


i6 


VII.      THE    HOLLY  AND  THE   IVY. 


Andante  mode  rata. 


17 


THE  HOLLY  AND  THE  IVY. 

The  holly  and  the  ivy, 
When  they  are  both  full  grown, 
Of  all  the  trees  that  are  in  the  wood, 
The  holly  bears  the  crown. 
The  rising  of  the  sun 
And  the  running  of  the  deer, 
The  playing  of  the  merry  organ, 
Sweet  singing  in  the  choir. 


The  holly  bears  a  blossom,  4 

As  white  as  the  lily  flower, 
And  Mary  bore  sweet  Jesus  Christ, 
To  be  our  sweet  Saviour. 
The  rising,  etc.,  etc. 

The  holly  bears  a  berry,  5 

As  red  as  any  blood, 
And  Mary  bore  sweet  Jesus  Christ 
For  to  do  us  sinners  good. 
The  rising,  etc.,  etc. 

6     The  holly  and  the  ivy 


The  holly  bears  a  prickle, 
As  sharp  as  any  thorn, 
And  Mary  bore  sweet  Jesus  Christ 
On  Christmas  day  in  the  morn. 
The  rising,  etc.,  etc. 

The  holly  bears  a  bark, 

As  bitter  as  any  gall. 

And  Mary  bore  sweet  Jesus  Christ 

For  to  redeem  us  all. 

The  rising,  etc.,  etc. 


When  they  are  both  full  grown. 
Of  all  the  trees  that  are  in  the  wood. 
The  holly  bears  the  crown. 
The  rising,  etc.,  etc. 


18 


VIII.      THE  SINNERS'   REDEMPTION. 


Andante  serioso 


si  -  der  well      and   do  bear    in  mind       What  our  great  God        for  us  hath     done  In 


\H\>  ,     ,    i= 



— H 

all      your    songs 

—  • — 1 — w • — 

and    your     prai  -  ses 

— 1- 

— rt~ 
be 

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Un     -     to       His      hea     -     ven 

-ly 

^-    •'^-^=^ 

-P 'ff— t— ? ?— 

=^~ 



-^"fJ    J    £  ^"^ 

=?^ 

^tr — - — —^ 

'    n }  r 

■#-      ~   - 

- — 1 

—M— 

■  t- 

f 

THE  SINNERS'   REDEMPTION. 

1  All  you  that  are  unto  mirth  inclined, 
Consider  well  and  do  bear  in  mind 
"What  our  great  God  for  us  hath  done 
In  sending  His  beloved  Son. 

2  Let  all  your  songs  and  your  praises  be 
Unto  His  heavenly  Majesty  ; 

And  evermore,  amongst  your  mirth. 
Remember  Christ  our  Saviour's  birth. 


3  The  five-and-twentieth  of  December 
Great  cause  we  have  to  remember  ; 
In  Bethlehem,  upon  that  morn, 
There  was  our  bless'd  Messiah  born. 

4  Near  Bethlehem  shepherds  they  did  keep 
Their  herds  and  flocks,  a-feeding  sheep, 
To  whom  God's  Angel  did  soon  appear. 
Which  put  the  shepherds  in  great  fear. 


5  Prepare  and  go,  the  Angel  said, 
To  Bethlehem,  be  ye  not  afraid  ; 
There  shall  ye  see,  this  blessed  morn, 
The  heavenly  Babe,  sweet  Jesus,  born. 

6  With  thankful  heart  and  with  joyful  mind 
The  shepherds  went  for  this  Babe  to  find  ; 
And,  as  the  heavenly  Angel  told. 

They  did  our  Saviour  Christ  behold. 

7  Within  a  manger  the  Babe  was  laid  ; 
The  Virgin  iVIary  beside  Him  stayed. 
Attending  on  the  Lord  of  Life, 
Being  both  Mother,  IMaid  and  Wife. 

8  If  choirs  of  angels  they  did  rejoice. 

Well  may  mankind,  both  with  heart  and  voic 
Sing  praises  to  the  God  of  heaven, 
Who  unto  us  His  Son  hath  given. 


IX.      COME  ALL  YOU   TRUE   GOOD  CHRISTTANS. 


Bles   -   sed    Sa    -   viour's   birth.  This        is         the    hap   -  py  morn      -     ing  1  This 


dal  Segno.      Last  -verse. 


COME  ALL  YOU  TRUE  GOOD  CHRISTIANS. 

1  Come  all  you  true  good  Christians, 
That  liveth  here  on  earth, 

O  salutate  the  morning 

Of  our  Blessed  Saviour's  birth. 

This  is  the  happy  morning  ! 

This  is  the  blessed  morn  ! 

To  save  us  all  from  ruin 

The  Son  of  God  was  born. 

2  Come,  Christians  all,  behold  the  Lamb, 
That  on  this  day  was  born  ; 

O  come  and  praise  His  Holy  Name 
And  usher  in  the  morn. 

This  is  the  happy,  etc. 


Now  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son, 
Be  praise  and  glory  giv'n  ; 
Let  saints  on  earth  with  angels  join 
The  harmony  of  heaven. 

This  is  the  happy  morning  ! 

This  is  the  blessed  morn  ! 

To  save  us  all  from  ruin 

The  Son  of  God  was  born. 


X.     ON  CHRISTMAS  NIGHT. 


an  -  gels  brin;  ;  News     of        great  joy,  iiiws       of       great  mirth,  News   of  our     Sa    -  viour 

in        its   place,  And     soon     "we     shall    its         ter    ■    ror      see,  And      poor       and   rich      must 


King's  own     birth, 
con  -  quered   be. 


2.  Then     why   should  men       on  earth      be    so    sad.''     Since 
4    Then     out         of    dark  -  ncss    we         see     light.     Which 


our         Re-deem  -  er  made      us      gl.id.  When    from    sin     He         set         us      free.     All 

makes      all     an  -  gels  to     sing       this  night  :  Glo  -  ry  to  God   and      peace       to     men    Both 


3.  Now 


for         to     gain     our         !i  -  ber  •  ty.  

now     and     ev   -   er   -   more.  A-  men.  |  \st  time.       dal  Segno.  |j  ^nd  time. 


ON  CHRISTMAS  NIGHT. 

1  On  Christmas  night  all  Christians  sing 
To  hear  what  news  those  angels  bring  ; 
News  of  great  joy,  news  of  great  mirth, 
News  of  our  Saviour  King's  own  birth. 

2  Then  why  should  men  on  earth  be  so  sad 
Since  our  Redeemer  made  us  glad, 
When  from  sin  He  set  us  free 

All  for  to  gain  our  liberty. 

3  Now  sin  depart,  behold  His  grace, 
Everlasting  life  comes  in  its  place, 
And  soon  we  shall  its  terror  see 

And  poor  and  rich  must  conquered  be. 

4  Then  out  of  darkness  we  see  light, 
Which  makes  all  angels  to  sing  this  night 
Glory  to  God  and  peace  to  men 

Both  now  and  evermore.     Amen. 


25 


XI.      COME   ALL  YOU   WOR  1  HY   GENTLEMEN. 


born      on     Christ-mas      Day.  The      Bles  -  sed     Vir   -  gin  Ma        -        ry       Un 


26 


COME  ALL  YOU  WORTHY  GENTLEMEN. 

I      Come  all  you  worthy  gentlemen 
That  may  be  standing  by, 
Christ  our  Blessed  Saviour 
Was  born  on  Christmas  Day. 
The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
Unto  the  Lord  did  pray. 
O  we  wish  you  the  comfort  and  tidings  of  joy  ! 


>     Christ  our  Blessed  Saviour 
Now  in  the  manger  lay — 
He's  lying  in  the  manger, 
While  the  oxen  feed  on  hay. 
The  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
Unto  the  Lord  did  pray. 

O  we  wish  you  the  comfort  and  tiding 


of 


joy 


3     God  bless  the  ruler  of  this  house, 
And  long  on  may  he  reign, 
Many  happy  Christmases 
He  live  to  see  again  ! 
God  bless  our  generation. 
Who  live  both  far  and  near 
And  we  wish  them  a  happy,  a  happy  New  Year 


27 


XII.     AS  I  SAT  ON  A  SUNNY   BANK. 


Allfgretto  con  grazia. 


FIRST     VERSION. 


As  I  sat  on         a  sun    -  ny     bank, 

3.  Who  do  you       think  were  in     those  ships  ? 

K 


I  sat        on       a         sun  -  ny  bank,        As        I  sat       on       a  sun  -  ny  bank      On 

Who  do  you     think  were       in    those  ships  ?  Who  do  you     think  were        in    those  ships     On 


Christ -mas  day       all        in     the  morn-ing 
Christ  -  mas  day       all        in     the  morn-ing 


I      saw        three      ships     come 
Christ  and  His    mo  -  ther  were 


i^     y     y 

sail  -  ing  home,     I       saw        three     ships  come      sail  -  ing  home,     I      saw        three     shi^ 
in  those  ships,        Christ  and  His   mo-ther  were      in  those  ships,         Christ  and  His   mo-ther  were 


28 


I   ut  time.         dal  'S  1 1  2nd  time.  \ 


sail-ing  home  On  Christ-mas  day    all      in  the  morn-iiig. 
in  those  ships  On  Christ-mas  day    all      in  the  morning. 


AS  I  SAT  ON  A  SUNNY  BANK. 

FIRST    VERSION. 

1  As  I  sat  on  a  sunny  bank, 
As  I  sat  on  a  sunny  bank, 
As  I  sat  on  a  sunny  bank, 

On  Christmas  Day  all  in  the  morning. 

2  I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  home, 
I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  home, 
I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  home 
On  Christmas  Day  all  in  the  morning. 


3  Who  do  you  think  were  in  those  ships? 
Who  do  you  think  were  in  those  ships.' 
Who  do  you  think  were  in  those  ships 
On  Christmas  Day  all  in  the  morning  ^ 

4  Christ  and  His  Mother  were  in  those  ships, 
Christ  and  His  Mother  were  in  those  ships, 
Christ  and  His  Mother  were  in  those  ships 
On  Christmas  Day  all  in  the  morning. 


XIII.      AS  I   SAT  ON  A   SUNNY   BANK 


SECOND    VERSION. 


I        sat     on        a        sun   -  ny  bank,     On  Christ  -  mas  Day    in     the     morn      -      ing.  2.  I 


30 


AS  1  SAT  ON  A  SUNNY  BANK. 

SECOND     VERSION. 

1  As  I  sat  on  a  sunny  bank, 

A  sunny  bank,  a  sunny  bank, 

As  I  sat  on  a  sunny  bank 

On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

2  I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  by, 
Come  sailing  by,  come  sailing  by, 
I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  by 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

3  And  who  d'you  think  were  on  the  ship. 
Were  on  the  ship,  were  on  the  ship. 
And  who  d'you  think  were  on  the  ship 
But  Joseph  and  his  Fair  Lady. 

4  O  he  did  whistle  and  she  did  sing. 
And  all  the  bells  on  earth  did  ring 
For  joy  our  Saviour  Christ  was  born 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 


AS  I  SAT  BY  MY  OLD  COTTAGE  DOOR. 

(alternative  words   to  "as   I   SAT   ON    A   SUNNY   BANK," 
SF.COND  version). 

1  As  1  sat  by  my  old  cottage  door, 
Old  cottage  door,  old  cottage  door, 
As  I  sat  by  my  old  cottage  door 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

2  I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  by, 
Come  sailing  by,  come  sailing  by, 
I  saw  three  ships  come  sailing  by 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

3  I  asked  them  what  they  had  got  in  them. 
Had  got  in  them,  had  got  in  them, 

I  asked  them  what  they  had  got  in  them 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

4  They  said  they'd  got  their  Saviour  there, 
Their  Saviour  there,  their  Saviour  there. 
They  said  they'd  got  their  Saviour  there 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

5  1  asked  them  where  they  were  taking  Him  to. 
Taking  Him  to,  taking  Him  to, 

I  asked  them  where  they  were  taking  Him  to 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

6  They  said  they  took  Him  to  Jerusalem, 
Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 

They  said  they  took  Him  to  Jerusalem 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

7  I  asked  them  what  they  would  do  with  Him  there. 
Do  with  Him  there,  do  with  Him  there, 

I  asked  them  what  they  would  do  with  Him  there 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

8  They  said  that  they  would  Him  crucify, 
Him  crucify,  Him  crucify. 

They  said  that  they  would  Him  crucify 
On  Christmas  Day  in  the  morning. 

32 


XIV.     THE  TEN  JOYS  OF  MARY. 


hap  -  py       may     you         be ;  O         Fa   -   ther,    Son     and       Ho   -   ly     Ghost,   And 


33 


Segno.       Last  time. 


THE  TEN  JOYS  OF  MARY. 

The  first  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 

It  was  the  joy  of  one, 

To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 

To  suck  at  her  breast  bone  ; 

To  suck  at  her  breast  bone,  good  man, 

How  happy  may  you  be  ; 

O  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 

And  Christ  to  eternity. 

The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had. 
It  was  the  joy  of  two. 
To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  bring  the  lame  to  go  ; 
To  bring  the  lame  to  go,  good  man. 
Etc.,  etc. 

The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had. 
It  was  the  joy  of  three. 
To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  bring  the  blind  to  see  ; 
To  bring  the  blind  to  see,  good  inan, 
Etc.,  etc. 

The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had. 
It  was  the  joy  of  four, 
To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  read  the  Bible  o'er  ; 
To  read  the  Bible  o'er,  good  man. 
Etc.,  etc. 

The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 
It  was  the  joy  of  five, 
To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  bring  the  dead  to  life  ; 
To  bring^the  dead  to  life,  good  man. 
Etc"  etc. 


34 


6  The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 
It  was  the  joy  of  six, 

To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  bear  the  crucifix  ; 
To  bear  the  crucifix,  good  man, 
Etc.,  etc. 

7  The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 
It  was  the  joy  of  seven. 

To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  wear  the  crown  of  Heaven  ; 
To  wear  the  crown  of  Heaven,  good  man. 
Etc.,  etc. 

8  The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 
It  was  the  joy  of  eight, 

To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
To  bring  the  crooked  straight  ; 
To  bring  the  crooked  straight,  good  man, 
Etc.,  etc. 

9  The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 
It  was  the  joy  of  nine. 

To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
Turn  water  into  wine  ; 
Turn  water  into  wine,  good  man, 
Etc.,  etc. 

lo     The  next  great  joy  that  Mary  had, 
It  was  the  joy  of  ten, 
To  see  her  own  Son  Jesus 
Bring  up  ten  gentlemen  ; 
Bring  up  ten  gentlemen,  good  man. 
How  happy  may  you  be  ; 
O  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
And  Christ  to  eternity. 


35 


XV.     THE   VIRGIN   UNSPOTTED. 


Allegretto  oi-aziosci. 


Proph  -  ets      fore     -     told         Should      bring  forth      a  Sa  -  viour,  which      now     you      be 


A  -  dam's  trans  -  gress-ions     in     -     vol  -  ved     us  in.  Then       let        us        be 


36 


THE  VIRGIN  UNSPOTTED. 

The  Virgin  unspotted  the  Prophets  foretold 
Should  bring  forth  a  Saviour,  which  now  you  behold, 
To  be  our  Redeemer,  from  death,  hell  and  sin, 
Which  Adam's  transgressions  involved  us  in. 

Then  let  us  be  merry, 

Cast  sorrow  away. 

Our  Saviour  Christ  Jesus 

Is  born  on  this  day. 

Through  Bethlehem  city,  in  Judah,  it  was 
That  Joseph  and  Mary  together  did  pass  ; 
All  for  to  be  tax-ed  'twas  there  that  they  came. 
Since  Cssar  Augustus  commanded  the  same. 

Then  let  us,  etc.,  etc. 
Now  Mary's  full  time  being  come,  as  we  find. 
She  brought  forth  Her  First-born  to  save  all  mankind 
The  Inn  being  so  full  for  this  heavenly  guest. 
No  place  could  be  found  for  to  lay  Him  to  rest. 

Then  let  us,  etc.,  etc. 
Then  presently  after  the  shepherds  did  spy 
Vast  numbers  of  angels  for  to  stand  in  the  sky  ; 
How  happy  they  conversed  !   so  sweet  did  they  sing  : 
All  glory  and  praise  to  our  Heavenly  King. 

Then  let  us  be  merry, 

Cast  sorrow  away. 

Our  Saviour  Christ  Jesus, 

Is  born  on  this  day. 


XVI.     SONS  OF  LEVI. 


knights        of  hon     -     our,       For  the          wars        have        just        be  -    gun,  That 


Ve    -    ry       few     with         us.,    corn-pare,    For     we    are    the    root  and  the  branch  of     Da  -  vid, 


fMm^^^ 


By  the  bright    and     the        glo  -  rious       star.     And       we    are  the       true     born 


sons     of      Le    -  vi,        Ve  -  ry    few   with      us.,    corn-pare,    For    we    are      the    root    and  the 


branch   of       Da  -  vid,       By        the  bright  and  the    glo  - 


star.  glo-  rious  star. 


39 


SONS  OF  LEVI. 

1  Come  all  you  knights,  you  knights  of  honour, 
For  the  wars  have  just  begun, 

That  you  may  shine  in  your  armour  bright 
All  in  the  New  Jerusalem. 

And  we  are  the  true  born  sons  of  Levi, 

Very  few  with  us  compare, 

For  wc  are  the  root  and  the  branch  of  David, 

By  the  bright  and  the  glorious  star. 

2  It  was  in  Gilgal  that  Moses  wandered. 
Playing  on  his  musical  horn, 

It  was  in  Gilgal  that  Moses  was  quartered 
Where  he  left  his  holy  mark. 
And  we  are,  etc.,  etc. 

3  It  was  in  Gilgal  that  Moses  wandered 
Near  unto  the  place  that's  good. 

Where  he  smote  the  waters  of  the  Egyptians 
And  turned  the  Jordan  into  blood. 
And  we  are,  etc.,  etc. 

4  Broad  is  the  path  that  leads  to  ruin, 
Many  walk  that  way  therein  ; 

It  will  take  you  to  that  sinful  Temple, 
The  place  that's  burdened  with  sin. 
And  we  are,  etc.,  etc. 

5  Narrow  is  the  path  that  leads  to  Heaven, 
Very  few  that  walk  therein  ; 

It  will  take  you  to  that  holy  Temple, 
The  very  place  that  is  free  from  sin. 
And  we  are,  etc.,  etc. 


40 


XVII.     THE  LITTLE   ROOM. 


to        a        dream  most   strange  I      fell  Which       to       the   world 


I  All  verses  except  the  last.  dal  Segno.  ||    Ijut  verse. 


THE  LITTLE  ROOM. 

As  on  my  bed  with  grief  oppressed 
I  laid  me  down  to  take  my  rest, 
Into  a  dream  most  strange  I  fell, 
Which  to  the  world  in  brief  I'll  tell. 

Methought  an  angel  all  in  white 
Did  come  to  me,  when  late  at  night, 
And  said  :  Prepare  to  go  with  me  ! 
I'll  show  strange  wonders  unto  thee. 

The  angel  forc-ed  me  to  go — 
Indeed,  whether  I  would  or  no — 
And,  in  a  very  little  space, 
He  brought  me  to  a  glorious  place. 

Upon  a  throne  there  sat  a  King  ; 
Many  melodiously  did  sing 
All  clothed  in  fine  white  array. 
Which  shined  brighter  than  the  day. 

It  was  so  beautiful  and  fair 
I  fain  would  have  continued  there  ; 
With  that  the  angel  said  to  me  : 
Poor  soul  this  is  no  place  for  thee. 

A  little  further  you  must  go 
For  something  else  I  will  show. 
Then  from  this  place  I  did  depart, 
Fullsore  it  grieved  me  to  the  heart. 

Into  a  little  room  we  went 
Where  was  a  noisome  stinking  scent  ; 
For  want  of  sweeping  many  years 
It  like  a  dung-hill  did  appear. 

One  came  to  clear  the  dirt  away  ; 
But  it  was  grown  to  such  decay 
He  could  by  no  means  clean  the  same 
It  did  the  King's  wrath  much  inflame. 

He  said  :   It  shall  no  longer  stand  ; 
I  will  destroy  it  out  of  hand  ; 
There  is  no  other  hope  I  see — 
This  little  room  shall  burned  be. 


42 


10  Another  place  he  brought  me  to, 
Most  sad  and  dreadful  to  the  view  ; 
It  grieved  my  heart  to  see  the  same 
All  full  of  sulphur,  smoke  and  flame. 

1 1  One  looked  at  me  both  fierce  and  grim. 
Which  made  me  tremble  every  limb  ; 
My  soul  was  filled  with  dread  and  fear, 
I  said  :   How  long  must  I  be  here  ? 

12  To  me  the  angel  then  replied  : 
Here,  ever  here,  you  must  abide  ; 
Except  this  room  can  cleansed  be 
There  will  be  no  relief  for  thee. 

13  The  Prince  said  :   Father  !  be  free 
To  give  that  little  room  to  me  ; 
I'll  put  it  in  another  frame, 

My  own  heart's  blood  to  cleanse  the  same. 

14  O  then  it  was  perfumed  and  done, 
The  King  was  willing  that  His  Son 
The  greatest  torture  then  could  bear 
To  put  the  room  in  good  repair. 

I  5      His  blood  was  thrown  upon  the  floor. 
And  water  then  was  sprinkled  o'er  ; 
The  room  was  suddenly  made  clean 
And  not  one  spot  was  to  be  seen. 

16  The  angel  came  and  said  to  me  : 
1  now  am  come  to  set  thee  free. 

0  then  my  joys  were  more  and  more 
That  I  had  seen  my  troubles  o'er. 

17  Again  he  brought  me  to  the  room, 
Where  was  a  smell  of  rich  perfume  ; 

1  was  amazed  to  see  the  same. 
For  it  was  in  another  frame. 

18  Then  to  the  angel  I  did  say  : 
Interpret  this  to  me,  I  pray. 
Because  it  seemeth  something  strange 
To  see  so  wonderful  a  change. 


43 


19  The  angel  said  :    This  is  the  world  ; 
It  would  have  been  to  ashes  hurled, 
Had  not  Christ  shed  His  blood  so  free 
To  cleanse  the  world  and  ransom  thee. 

20  Although  He  died  He  lives  again, 
And  with  His  Father  now  doth  reign  ; 
At  His  right  hand  He  sits  on  high 
And  lives  to  all  eternity. 

21  He'll  come  again  to  judge  the  world  ; 
The  wicked  ones  they  shall  be  hurled 
Into  the  pit  of  discontent, 

Where  wicked  fiends  they  do  torment. 

22  The  righteous  need  not  fear  to  die 
For  they  shall  be  with  Christ  on  high  ; 
Although  afflicted  here  on  earth, 
They  will  be  happy  after  death. 

23  Then  by  the  hand  he  did  me  take. 
And  said  :   Poor  drowsy  soul,  awake  ! 
Being  awakened  from  my  sleep, 

My  heart  was  full  ;    then  I  did  weep. 

24  To  think  my  Christ  so  patiently 
Did  undergo  such  misery  ; 

To  free  lost  sinners  from  the  grave 
He  shed  His  blood  the  world  to  save. 

25  I  hope  this  dream  is  for  my  good. 
Lord  Jesus  with  Thy  precious  blood 
Wash  all  my  heinous  sins  away 
And  make  me  fit  for  the  last  day. 


LITTLE    ROOM. 


SECOND     PART. 


1  Another  mystery  behold  ! 
I'll  in  the  second  part  unfold  ; 
These  worthy  poems  I  have  penned 
That  all  good  Christians  may  attend. 

2  This  mystery  I  do  compare 
Unto  a  gallant  lady  fair, 

And  a  black  king,  that  reigns  below, 
Who  sought  this  lady's  overthrow. 

3  The  black  king,  having  such  a  spite 
Against  this  gallant  lady  bright, 
Sent  forth  an  order,  or  decree, 
That  she  to  death  shall  murdered  be. 

4  According  to  the  black  king's  laws. 
Condemned  to  die  this  lady  was. 
When  she  her  sentence  came  to  know 
Her  tears  like  fountain  streams  did  flow. 

5  Now  when  the  lady's  death  was  near, 

A  young  Prince  came  and  said  :   Don't  fear  ! 
For  thou  shalt  not  destroyed  be  ; 
I'll  die  myself  to  set  thee  free. 

6  Thenstraightspakeupthissameyoung  Prince  : 
I'm  come  to  stand  in  her  defence  ; 

Upon  her  be  not  too  severe  ; 
I'll  die  myself  to  set  her  clear. 

7  Then  was  it  the  young  Prince's  doom 
To  suffer  in  this  lady's  room. 

For  by  these  lines  1  briefly  show 
That  you  the  mystery  may  know. 

8  First  with  the  lady  I'll  begin  ; — 
It  is  the  soul  condemned  for  sin, 

Had  not  the  Prince  resigned  His  breath 
To  save  it  from  eternal  death. 

9  The  black  king  Satan  is,  we  know, 
Who  sought  the  soul  to  overthrow  ; 
And  the  young  Prince  is  Christ  indeed, 
W^ho  on  the  cross  for  sin  did  bleed. 


45 


XVIII.     THE  TRUTH  SENT   FROM  ABOVE. 


Andante  tun  non  froppo. 


from  a    -     bove,  The    truth         of         God,      the  God  of         love ;  There- 


fore       don't     turn       me  from      your  door,       But  heark  -  en  all,        both 


46 


THE   TRUTH   SENT  FROM  ABOVE. 

1  This  is  the  truth  sent  from  above, 
The  truth  of  God,  the  God  of  love  ; 
Therefore  don't  turn  me  from  your  door, 
But  hearken  all,  both  rich  and  poor. 

2  The  first  thing,  which  I  do  relate. 
That  God  at  first  did  man  create  ; 
The  next  thing,  which  to  you  I  tell. 
Woman  was  made  with  him  to  dwell. 

3  Then  after  this,  'twas  God's  own  choice 
To  place  them  both  in  Paradise, 
There  to  remain  from  evil  free 
Except  they  ate  of  such  a  tree. 

4  But  they  did  eat,  which  was  a  sin. 
And  thus  their  ruin  did  begin  ; 
Ruined  themselves,  both  you  and  me, 
And  all  of  their  posterity. 

5  Thus  we  were  heirs  to  endless  woes. 
Till  God  the  Lord  did  interpose  ; 
For  so  a  promise  soon  did  run 
That  He'd  redeem  us  with  a  Son. 

6  And  at  this  season  of  the  year 
Our  blest  Redeemer  did  appear  ; 

He  here  did  live,  and  here  did  preach. 
And  many  thousands  He  did  teach. 

7  Thus  He  in  love  to  us  behaved, 
To  show  us  how  we  must  be  saved  ; 
And  if  you  want  to  know  the  way 
Be  pleased  to  hear  what  He  did  say. 

8  Go  preach  the  Gospel  new,  He  said, 
To  all  the  nations  that  are  made  ; 
And  he  that  does  believe  in  me. 
From  all  his  sins  I'll  set  him  free. 

9  God  grant  to  all  within  this  place 
True  saving  faith — that  special  grace. 
Which  to  His  people  doth  belong- — ■ 
And  thus  I  close  my  Christmas  song. 


47 


XIX.     THE  TWELVE   APOSTLES. 


48 


THE  TWF.r,VF.  APOSTLES. 

1  When  Jesus  Christ  had  lived 

Full  thirty  years  or  more, 
He  work-ed  many  wondrous  works 
With  His  twelve  apostles  pure. 

2  He  delivered  up  the  twelve 

A  sacrament  to  take  ; 
He  shewed  Simon  an  Hebrew  house 
A  Testament  to  make. 

3  Then  Judas  with  the  Jews 

Our  Saviour  did  betray  ; 
And  unto  him  for  thirty  pence 
Jesus  was  sold  away. 

4  Then  Judas  he  came  in 

With  a  troop  of  arm-ed  men, 
And  bound  his  Master  fast  in  bonds, 
In  whom  there  was  no  sin. 

5  And  for  His  garments  brave 

The  soldiers  did  cast  dice. 
Which  was  a  garment  without  seam 
And  a  jewel  of  great  price. 

6  They  led  Him  on  straightway 

Unto  His  judgment  place  ; 
Without  God's  leave  He  was  condemned 
To  die  in  vile  disgrace. 

7  Between  two  ruffian  rogues 

They  nailed  our  Saviour  up  ; 
They  left  His  body  there  to  bleed 
In  torment's  bitter  cup. 

8  They  nailed  His  hands  and  feet. 

And  crowned  His  head  with  thorns. 
And  gave  Him  vinegar  to  drink 
With  many  reproachful  scorns. 


49 


9      Now  all  things  seemed  to  mourn 

When  our  blessed  Saviour  died  ; 
The  hills  and  rocks  did  rend, 
The  mountains  did  divide. 

lo     The  heavens  themselves  grew  very  dark, 
The  moon  forsook   her  light  ; 
And  for  three  hours  in  the  dav 
It  was  a  dismal  sight. 

I  I      The  earth  did  tremble  and  quake, 
And  graves  did  open  wide  ; 
Dead  men's  ghosts  walked  up  and  down 
In  a  frightful  manner  beside. 

12      At  any  Christmas  time, 

Amongst  good  Christians  all, 
This  Christmas  carol  may  be  sung 
In  any  house  or  hall. 


5° 


XX.      NEW  YEAR'S  CAROL. 


Atidanle  maesloso.  ^ 


P^i 


deemed  our  souls   from     hell.  He's    crowned  with  thorns, spit      on    with      scorn,       The 


NEW  YEAR'S  CAROL. 

Awake  !   Awake  !  ye  drowsy  souls 

And  hear  what  1  shall  tell  ; 

Remember  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God, 

Redeemed  our  souls  from  hell. 

He's  crowned  with  thorns,  spit  on  with  scorn. 

The  Jews  have  hid  themselves. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 


They  bound  Christ's  body  to  a  tree. 

And  wounded  Him  full  sore  ; 

From  every  wound  the  blood  ran  down 

Till  Christ  could  bleed  no  more  ; 

His  dying  wounds,  all  rent  and  tore. 

Were  covered  with  pearly  gore. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 


And  when  the  Jews  had  murdered  Christ 

And  shown  their  cruel  spite, 

The  sun  and  moon  did  hide  their  heads 

And  went  in  mourning  straight. 

The  heavens  stood  amazed,  and  angels  gazed. 

And  the  earth  it  was  darkened  quite. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

And  when  Christ's  soul  departed 

And  from  His  body  fled. 

The  rocks  did  rend,  the  graves  did  ope 

And  then  appeared  the  dead  ; 

All  they  that  were  there  did  quake  for  fear 

And  said  it  was  the  Son  of  God. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

Then  Christ  He  called  Thomas 

And  bid  him  :   Come  and  see. 

And  put  thy  fingers  in  the  wounds 

That  are  in  my  body  ; 

And  be  not  faithless,  but  believe, 

And  happy  shalt  thou  be. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

Then  Christ  called  His  disciples 

And  tried  them  over  death 

And  said  :   All  powers  are  given  to  you 

In  heaven  and  on  earth  ; 

Go  forth  and  teach  all  nations 

Despise  you  not  my  death.* 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

Go  seek  you  every  wandering  sheep 

That  doth  on  earth  remain, 

Till  I  myself  have  paid  your  debts 

And  turned  you  back  again  ; 

Come  all  ye  heavy  laden, 

I'll  ease  you  of  your  pain. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

*  Mr.  Bates  sang  '•  Despising  you  of  your  rest." 

53 


It  was  early  in  one  morning 

That  Mary  did  Him  seek  ; 

She  saw  two  angels  sitting 

At  Jesus's  head  and  feet. 

Mary  shed  tears  while  Christ  appeared, 

And  He  said  :  Why  dost  thou  weep  ? 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

God  bless  the  ruler  of  this  house 
And  send  him  long  to  reign  ; 
Let  many  a  happy  New  Year 
Go  over  his  head  again, 
And  all  his  godly  family 
That  serveth  the  Lord  so  dear. 
So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 

God  bless  the  mistress  of  this  house, 

With  gold  all  round  her  breast, 

And,  let  her  body  be  asleep  or  awaice, 

Lord  send  her  soul  to  rest, 

And  all  her  godly  family 

That  serveth  the  Lord  so  dear. 

So  God  send  you  all  a  joyful  New  Year. 


54 


XXI.      WASSAIL  SONG. 


sail,         all         o  -   ver     the     town,      Our     toast     it       is       white,  and   our      ale      it       is 


brown ;        Our     bowl     it       is     made    of    the    white  ma  -  pie      tree.      With  the    was  -  sail  -  ing 


55 


WASSAIL  SONG. 

Wassail,  wassail,  all  over  the  town, 
Our  toast  it  is  white  and  our  ale  it  is  brown  ; 
Our  bowl  it  is  made  of  the  white  maple  tree, 
With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee, 

Drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee, 
With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Here  is  to  Cherry*  and  to  his  right  cheek. 
Pray  God  send  my  master  a  good  piece  of  beef, 
And  a  good  piece  of  beef  that  may  we  all  see  ; 
With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee. 
With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Here  is  to  Cherry  and  to  his  right  eye. 
Pray  God  send  my  master  a  good  Christmas  pie. 
And  a  good  Christmas  pie  that  may  we  all  see  ; 
With  our  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee. 
With  our  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

*  The  name  of  a  favourite  horse. 


56 


Here  is  to  Cherry  and  to  his  right  arm, 
May  God  send  my  master  a  good  crop  of  corn, 
And  a  good  crop  of  corn  that  may  we  all  see  ; 
"With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee, 
With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Here  is  to  Cherry  and  to  his  left  ear. 
Pray  God  send  my  master  a  barrel  of  beer. 
And  a  barrel  of  beer  that  may  we  all  see  ; 
With  our  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee, 
With  our  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Here's  to  our  cow  and  to  her  long  tail 
Pray  God  send  our  master  he  never  may  fail 
A  bowl  of  strong  beer  ;   I  pray  you  draw  near. 
And  our  jolly  wassail  it's  then  you  shall  hear. 
We'll  drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee, 
And  our  jolly  wassail  it's  then  you  shall  hear. 

Come,  butler,  come  fill  us  a  bowl  of  the  best. 

Then  I  hope  that  your  soul  in  heaven  may  rest  ; 

But  if  you  do  draw  us  a  bowl  of  the  small, 

Then  down  fall  butler,  bowl  and  all  ! 

We'll  drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee. 

With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 

Where  is  the  maid  with  the  lily  white  smock, 

That  do  trip  to  the  door  and  draw  back  the  lock  ? 

O  let  us  all  in  and  seek  how  you  do, 

Saying  :   Nan,  if  you  will,  we  will  welcome  you  too, 

W'e'll  drink  to  thee,  drink  to  thee. 

With  the  wassailing  bowl  we'll  drink  to  thee. 


57 


NOTES  ON  THE  CAROLS. 

No.  I.     KING  HEROD  AND  THE  COCK. 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Plumb  at  Armscote,  Worcestershire. 

HE  words  in  the  text  are  given  exactly  as  Mrs.  Plumb  sang  them. 
I  have  collected  no  variants.  The  tune  is  a  form  of  the  well 
known  "  Dives  and  Lazarus  "  air  [see  "  Come  aU  you  worthy 
Christian  Men,"  Folk-Songs  from  Somerset,  No.  88). 

Mrs.  Plumb's  lines,  although  they  tell  a  complete  story, 
are  but  a  fragment  of  a  very  much  longer  carol,  consisting 
of  thirty  stanzas,  called  "  The  Carnal  and  the  Crane,"  printed 
in  Sandys's  Christmas  Carols,  Husk's  Songs  of  the  Nativity,  and  elsewhere. 
For  traditional  versions  with  tunes,  see  Miss  Broadwood's  English  Traditional 
Songs  and  Carols,  and  The  Folk-Song  Society's  Journal  (I,  183  and  IV,  22 
with  notes). 

In  this  latter  carol  the  Crane  instructs  the  Carnal  {i.e.  the  Crow)  in  the  facts 
of  the  Nativity,  of  the  truth  of  which  the  two  miracles  of  the  Cock  and 
the  Miraculous  Harvest  are  cited  as  evidence. 

I  am  unable  to  offer  any  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  senses," 
which  occurs  in  the  last  two  stanzas  of  the  text.  In  the  printed  copies  it 
is  given  as  "  fences  " — evidently  a  confusion  has  somewhere  arisen  between 
the  letter  "  s,"  in  its  old  fashioned  form,  and  "  f."  "  Thrustened  "  = 
"  crowed  "  ;  it  is  evidently  a  derivative  of  the  Mid.  Eng.  thrusch  which  meant 
a  chirper  or  twitterer. 

The  origin  of  the  carol,  and  of  the  legends  associated  with  it,  is  exhaustively 
analysed  in  Child's  Ballads,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred.  The  conversion 
of  King  Herod  to  a  belief  in  the  power  of  the  new-born  Christ  in  the  way 
narrated  in  the  text  is  an  early  legend,  and  one  that  is  widely  distributed, 
traces  of  it  being  found  in  the  Scandinavian  countries  and  other  parts  of 
Europe.  It  is  not,  I  beheve,  mentioned  in  any  of  the  Apocryphal  Gospels, 
although  the  second  miracle  in  the  carol,  the  Miraculous  Harvest,  can  be  traced 
to  that  source. 

No.  2.     THE  BITTER  WITHY. 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Hands  of  Snowshill,  Gloucestershire. 

Mrs.  Hands  could  only  remember  the  words  of  the  final  stanza.  The  lines 
in  the  text  are  from  Mr.  George  Gibbs  of  Evesham,  Worcestershire,  who  com- 

59 


municated  them  to  the  "  Notes  and  Queries  "  column  of  Tlie  Evesham  Journal, 
edited  by  Mr.  E.  A.  B.  Barnard  (see  Notes  and  Queries  concerning  Evesham 
and  the  Four  Shires,  1911,  VoL  I,  p.  217).  Mr.  Gibbs,  a  cobbler  by  trade, 
told  me  that  he  learned  the  verses  from  a  little  girl  who  used,  from  time  to 
time,  to  bring  him  her  shoes  to  be  mended,  and  who,  in  return  for  the  service 
rendered,  taught  him  the  carol. 

I  have  collected  two  other  variants,  from  Buckland  (Gloucestershire)  and 
Shipston-on-Stour  (Worcestershire).  Neither  singer  could  give  me  more 
than  the  words  of  the  last  stanza,  the  Worcestershire  singer  telling  me  that 
that  stanza  was  sung  as  a  refrain  after  every  verse  of  the  song.  Mr.  Gibbs's 
words  are  printed  without  alteration. 

The  origin  of  the  legend,  upon  which  this  curious  carol  is  based,  has  at- 
tracted a  great  deal  of  attention  from  ballad  students  during  the  last  few 
years,  and  has  been  exhaustively  debated  in  the  pages  of  The  Folk-Song 
Society's  Journal  (II,  pp.  205,  300-4  ;  IV,  pp.  29-47)  where  six  traditional 
tunes  are  printed,  together  with  several  versions  of  the  text. 

The  Bitter  Withy  has  obviously  been  affected  by  the  ballad  Little  Sir  Hugh 
of  Lincoln.  The  two  have  certain  points  in  common.  Both  open  with  the 
same  incident — a  child  asking  his  mother's  permission  to  go  out  and  play  at 
ball — and  both  lead  up  to  a  tragedy.  The  opening  stanzas  of  the  two  songs 
are,  in  some  versions,  nearly  identical.  This  coincidence  accounts,  no  doubt, 
for  the  intrusion  into  the  text  of  the  Bitter  Withy  of  the  line  "  Then  up  LincuU 
and  down  LincuU,"  and  of  a  similar  line  "It  was  upling  scorn  and  downling 
scorn  "  in  a  version  quoted  bj^  Mr.  Frank  Sidgwick  [More  Ancient  Carols, 
Stratford-on-Avon,  1906,  p.  7).  It  is  clear  that  both  lines  are  merely  cor- 
ruptions of  "  Up  Lincoln  and  down  Lincoln  "  (of.  "  American  Corn  "  for 
"  Merry  Lincoln  "  in  Folk-Songs  from  Somerset,  No.  68). 

The  Bitter  Withy  is  also  very  closely  connected  with  another  ballad.  The 
Holy  Well.  The  first  part  of  the  story  in  both  ballads  is  identical,  although 
their  conclusions  are  very  different.  In  the  Holy  Well,  for  instance,  when 
the  children,  scorning  His^  lowly  birth,  refuse  to  play  with  Him,  Jesus  returns 
home  and  tells  His  mother  what  has  happened.     Whereupon  Mary  says  : — 

Sweet  Jesus,  go  do\\-n  to  yonder  town. 
As  far  as  the  Holy  Well, 
And  take  away  those  sinfiil  souls. 
And  dip  them  deep  in  hell. 

Nay,  nay,  sweet  Jesus  said, 
Nay,  nay,  that  may  not  be. 
For  there  are  too  many  sinful  souls 
Crying  out  for  the  help  of  me. 

The  Holy  Well  has  been  a  popular  ballad  with  folk-singers  ;  for  Mr.  Harris 
Cowper  quotes  a  version  from  a  chap-book  printed  at  Birmingham,  circa 
1843  ;  and  I  have  in  my  possession  two  Birmingham  broadsides  by  Russell, 
and  Bloomer,  from  the  former  of  which  the  above  stanzas  have  been  copied. 

Although  (here  are  several  incidents  in  the  Apocryphal  Gospels  of  the 
Infancy  which  bear  upon  the  stor\'  of  The  Bitter  Withy,  not  one  of  them  is 
identical  with  it.  In  the  Arabic  Gospel  of  the  Infancy,  for  instance,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  going  out  into  the  streets  to  play,  follows  some  boys  who,  in  order  to 

6c 


evade  Him,  hide  themselves  in  a  vault  and  are  changed  by  Him  into  kids. 
In  the  Syriac  Gospel  of  the  Boyhood  Jesus,  when  five  years  oM,  plays  at  a  ford 
with  streams  of  water,  collecting  them  into  a  pool.  One  of  His  companions 
took  a  stick  from  a  willow  tree  and  destroyed  the  pool  ;  whereupon,  Jesus 
said  :  "  Without  root  shall  thy  shoot  be,  and  thy  fruits  shall  dry  up  like  a 
bough  of  the  wood  which  is  broken  by  the  wind,  and  is  no  more.  And  the 
boy  immediately  withered  away  "  (Cowper's  Apocryphal  Gospels,  p.  449).  In 
the  same  Gospel  a  boy,  who  was  running,  struck  Jesus  with  his  shoulder. 
"  Jesus  saith  unto  him  :  Thou  shalt  not  go  thy  way.  And  immediately  he 
fell  down  and  died."  Again,  Jesus  was  playing  on  the  housetop  when  one 
of  His  companions,  Zeno,  accidentally  fell  down  and  was  killed.  Jesus, 
accused  by  the  boy's  kindred  of  casting  the  boy  down,  said  to  Zeno  :  "  Did  I 
cast  thee  down  ?  "     Whereat  Zeno  leaped  up  and  said  :   "  No,  my  Lord." 

Professor  Gerould  also  mentions  a  sunbeam  legend — unaccompanied, 
however,  by  the  drowning  incident — in  the  Laurentian  MS.  of  Pseudo-Matthew. 

Now  the  main  thesis  of  all  these  stories  is  very  similar  to  that  of  The  Bitter 
Withy  ;  the  Infant  Christ  goes  out  to  play,  someone  offends  Him  and  in  con- 
sequence suffers  death,  or  severe  punishment,  brought  about  by  supernatural 
means.  But  this,  it  will  be  noted,  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  story  of  the 
Holy  Well,  in  which  Jesus  refuses  to  punish  those  who  have  slighted  Him, 
even  when  incited  to  do  so  by  His  Mother.  From  this  we  may,  I  think,  con- 
clude that  The  Holy  Well  is  a  comparatively  modern  recension  of  The  Bitter 
Withy,  modified  so  that  it  shall  the  better  accord  with  a  truer  conception  of 
the  character  of  Jesus. 

Nos.  3  &  4.     THE  CHERRY  TREE. 
(first  version). 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Mary  Anne  Clayton,  at  Chipping  Campden. 

Mrs.  Clayton  gave  me  the  words  of  the  first  stanza  only.  The  remaining 
stanzas  were  sung  to  me  by  Mrs.  Anne  Roberts  at  Winchcombe  (Gloucester- 
shire) to  a  different  tune.     The  words  in  the  text  have  not  been  altered. 

(second  version). 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Plumb,  at  Arinscote,  Worcestershire. 

The  words  are  very  similar  to  a  set  printed  by  Hone  [Ancient  Mysteries 
described  1823,  pp.  90-1),  from  which  the  last  two  fines  of  the  fifth  stanza, 
which  Mrs.  Plumb  forgot,  have  been  taken.  Except  for  this  interpolation, 
the  words  in  the  text  are  as  Mrs.  Plumb  sang  them. 

This  carol,  of  which  I  have  noted  eight  variants,  may  be  found  in  all  the 
representative  carol  collections.  The  words,  too,  have  always  been  exceed- 
ingly popular  with  broadside  printers. 

The  legend  upon  which  the  story  of  this  carol  is  based,  is  a  variant  of  one 
related  in  one  of  the  Apocryphal  Gospels  (Pseudo-Matthew,  Chapter  xx). 
Joseph  and  the  Virgin  with  the  Infant  Jesus  are  fleeing  to  Egypt  when  Mary, 
seeing  a  palm  tree,  proposes  that  they  shall  rest  awhile  under  "its  shade.  No- 
ticing that  the  tree  was  heavy  with  fruit  she  asks  for  some.    Joseph  somewhat 

6i 


testily  replies  :  "  I  wonder  thou  sayest  this,  when  thou  seest  what  a  height  the 

palm  is I  think  more  of  scarcity  of  water,  which  is  already 

failing  us  in  the  bottles.".  .Whereupon  "  the  little  child  Jesus,  sitting  with 
a  glad  countenance  in  his  mother's  lap,  saith  to  the  palm,  O  tree,  bend  down 
thy  branches,  and  with  thy  fruit  refresh  my  mother."  The  palm  accord- 
ingh'  bowed  down,  and  they  gathered  its  fruit  ;  whereat,  "  Jesus  said  to  it, 
Raise  thee,  O  palm,  and  be  strong,  and  be  a  partner  with  my  trees  which 
are  in  the  paradise  of  my  Father.  And  open  from  thy  roots  a  spring  of 
water  which  is  hidden  in  the  earth  ;  and  let  waters  flow  forth  from  it  to 
our  satisfjdng.  And  immediately  it  arose,  and  there  began  to  flow  forth 
at  its  root  a  most  pure  fount  of  waters,  very  cool,  and  exceedingly  clear  " 
(see  The  Apocryphal  Gospels,  translated  by  B.  Harris  Cowper,  pp.  59-60). 

The  Cherry  Tree  theme,  however,  is  directly  founded  upon  an  incident  in 
the  Coventry  Miracles  (Piece  xv).  Joseph  and  Mary  are  on  the  road  to 
"  Bedlem  "  to  be  taxed  when  the  following  conversation  takes  place  {see 
Hone's  Mysteries,  pp.  67-8)  : — 

Maria. — A  my  swete  husbond  !   wolde  ye  telle  to  me. 

What  tre  is  yon,  standing  vpon  yon  hylle  ? 
Joseph. — For  suthe  Mary  it  is  clepyd  a  chery  tre  ; 

In  tyme  of  yer,  ye  myght  ffede  yow  theron  yowr  fylle. 
Maria. — Turn  a  geyn,  husbond,  &  be  holde  yon  tre, 

How  that  it  blomyght,  now,  so  swetly. 
Joseph. — Cum  on  Mary,  that  we  wern  at  yon  Cyte, 

or  ellys  we  may  be  blamyd,  I  telle  yow  lythly. 
Maria. — Now  my  spowse,  I  pray  yow  to  be  hold 

How  the  chery es  growyn  vpon  yon  tre  ; 

ffor  to  have  them,  of  ryght,  ft'ayn  I  wold, 

&  it  plesyd  yow  to  labor'  so  mec'h  for  me. 
Joseph. — Yo'  desyr  to  ffulfylle  I  schall  assay  sekyrly  : — 

Ow  !  to  plucke  yo\\-  of  these  cheries  it  is  a  werk  wylde  ! 

ffor  the  tre  is  so  hy',  it  wol  not  be  lyghtly 

Y'  for  lete  hy'  pluk  yo\\'  cheryes,  be  gatt  yow  with  childe. 
Maria. — Now,  good  lord,  I  pray  the,  graunt  me  this  bonn, 

to  haue  of  these  cheries,  &  it  be  yo'  wylle  ; 

now,  I  thank  it  god,  yis  tre  bowyth  to  me  down, 

I  may  now  gader'y  a  nowe,  &  etyn  my  ffylle. 

Joseph  then  humbles  himself,  the  miracle  convincing  him  that  he  has 
offended  "  god  i'  trinyte." 

Obviously,  this  is  the  source  of  the  popular  song.  The  last  line  of  Joseph's 
last  speech  is  almost  word  for  word  the  same  as  the  corresponding  line  of 
Mrs.  Roberts's  version. 


No.  5.     THE  MOON  SHINES  BRIGHT. 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Gentie  Phillips,  a  native  of  Tysoe,  Warwickshire,  noii)  living  at  Birmingham. 

This  carol  and  The  Sinner's  Redemption  (No.  8),  together  with  many  others 
were  sung  every  Christmas  by  the  Tysoe  carol  singers. 

With  the  exception  of  the  3rd  stanza  the  words  given  in  the  text  are  those 
which  Mrs.  Phillips  and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Handy,  sang  to  me.     The  3rd  stanza, 

62 


which  Mrs.  PhilHps  could  only  partially  remember,  is  from  a  version  noted 
several  years  ago  at  East  Harptree,  Somerset.  In  another  variant  which  I 
collected  in  Kent  this  stanza  runs  as  follows  : — 

In  yonder  garden  green  doth  grow, 
As  green  as  any  leek  ; 
Our  Lord  our  God  He  waters  us 
\^'ith  His  hea\-eiily  dew  so  sweet. 

Other  versions  with  tunes  are  printed  in  The  Folk-Song  Society's  Journal, 
Sussex  Songs,  English  County  Songs,  Shropshire  Folk-Lore,  Songs  of  the  West, 
and  Carols  New  and  Old  (Bramley  and  Stainer)  ;  with  words  only,  in  Sandys's 
Christmas  Carols,  etc.,  and  on  broadsides  by  Evans,  Thompson  and  others. 

No.  6.     GOD  BLESS  YOU,  MERRY  GENTLEMEN. 

Sung  by  Mr.  Tom  Ison,  at  Ely. 

Mr.  Ison  told  me  that  he  used  to  sing  this  carol,  in  company  with  other 
singers,  at  Christmas  time. 

In  Warwickshire  the  carol  singers  would  sometimes  sing  a  single  stanza  of 
this  carol  by  way  of  farewell  at  the  conclusion  of  their  programme,  as 
follows  : — 

God  bless  you,  merry  gentlemen,  as  j'ou  sit  by  the  fire. 
And  pity  us  poor  travellers  that  trudges  through  the  mire  ; 
God  bless  your  friends,  your  kindred,  that  lives  both  far  and  near  ; 
God  send  you  a  happy  Christmas  and  a  bright  New  Year. 

Mr.  Ison  could  only  remember  the  words  of  the  first  stanza.  The  remaining 
lines  in  the  text  are  from  a  version  sung  to  me  by  another  Ely  singer,  Mr. 
Robert  Feast,  and  are  printed  without  emendation. 

The  carol  is,  of  course,  well  known.  The  tune,  however,  usually  given  in 
the  carol  books,  is  in  the  aeolian,  not  dorian  mode.  The  air  is  a  favourite  one 
with  English  folk-singers  and  is  often  used  in  Wassail  songs  (see  Folk-Songs 
from  Somerset,  No.  129).  A  very  beautiful  mixolydian  variant  was  sung  to 
me  by  a  Warwickshire  singer. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  more  usual  "  God  rest  you  merry,  gentlemen  "  is 
rendered  in  the  Cambridgeshire  version  "  God  bless  you,  merry  gentlemen," 
where  '.'  merry  "  is  an  adjective  quahfying  "  gentlemen."  The  old  expression 
"  God  rest  you  merry  "  has,  apparently,  become  obsolete. 

For  other  versions  of  the  words  see  Sandys's  Christmas  Carols  and  broadsides 
by  Russell,  Bloomer,  Thompson  and  others. 

No.  7.     THE  HOLLY  AND  THE  IVY. 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Mary  Clayton,  at  Chipping  Campden. 

I  have  supplemented  Mrs.  Clayton's  words  with  those  of  another  set  recited 
to  me  by  the  late  Mrs.  Wyatt  of  East  Harptree,  Somerset.  The  only  alter- 
ation that  I  have  made  is  in  tlie  second  stanza,  substituting  in  place  of  the 

63 


obviously  incorrect  "  On  Cliristmas  day  in  the  morn  "   (which  Mrs.  Wyatt 
gave  me)  the  hne  given  in  the  text  which  is  the  usual  broadside  rendering. 

Variants  of  "  The  Holly  and  the  Ivy  "  are  printed  in  Bramley  and  Stainer's 
and  Chope's  collections.  The  words  are  also  on  a  broadside  by  Wadsworth 
of  Birmingham. 

No.  8.     THE  SINNER'S  REDEMPTION. 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Gentie  Phillips,  of  Tysoe,  at  Birmingham. 

Mrs.  Phillips  could  remember  no  more  than  the  first  stanza  ;  the  remaining 
stanzas  have  been  copied  from  a  broadside.  Under  the  title  "  All  you  that 
are  to  mirth  inclined  "  the  carol  is  printed,  words  and  tune,  by  Bramley  and 
Stainer,  R.  R.  Chope  and  Davies  Gilbert  ;  words  only,  by  Sandys  and  many 
broadside  printers.  The  tune,  which  is  often  used  by  carol  singers  (see  Folk- 
Song  Society's  Journal,  IV,  pp.  15,  17  et  seq.),  is  a  variant  of  "  Searching  for 
Lambs  "  {Folk-Songs  from  Somerset.     No.  96). 

No.  9.     COME  ALL  YOU  TRUE  GOOD  CHRISTIANS. 

Sung  hv  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Thomas  at  Chipping  Sodhury. 

Mr.  Thomas  could  only  remember  the  words  of  the  first  stanza,  which  are 
given  in  the  text  exactly  as  he  sang  them  to  me.  As  I  have  been  unable  to 
trace  the  carol  to  which  these  lines  belong  I  have  added  two  stanzas  from 
another  and  very  similar  set  of  words,  consisting  of  three  verses,  entitled 
"  The  Lamb,"  which  I  found  on  a  broadside  by  Pitts.  Except  for  a  general 
hkeness  I  have  no  reason  to  connect  this  carol  with  that  which  Mr.  Thomas 
gave  me. 

No.  10.     ON  CHRISTMAS  NIGHT. 

Sung  by  Mr.  William  Bayliss  of  Buckland  {Gloucestershire). 

No  alteration  has  been  made  in  the  words.  The  carol,  set  to  a  modern  tune, 
is  pubUshed  in  Bramley  and  Stainer's  collection  ;  while  three  traditional 
versions  are  printed  in  The  Folk-Song  Society's  Journal  (II,  pp.  126-7).  The 
words  are  on  a  broadside  by  Batchelar. 

No.    II.     COME   ALL   YOU   WORTHY   GENTLEMEN. 

Sung  by  Mr.  Rapsey,  of  Bridgicater. 

This  carol  has  been  already  printed  in  Folk-Songs  from  Somerset  (No.  126). 
The  only  alteration  that  has  been  made  in  Mr.  Rapsey's  words  is  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  word  "  pray  "  for  "  say  "  in  the  penultimate  lines  of  the  first 
two  stanzas.  Mr.  Rapsey  told  me  that  the  carol  was  taught  to  him  by  his 
mother  and  that,  in  company  with  other  children,  he  used  to  sing  it  in  the 
streets  of  Bridgwater  at  Christmas  time.  I  do  not  know  of  another  printed 
version  of  the  carol. 

64 


Nos.  12  &  13.     AS  I  SAT  ON  A  SUNNY  BANK. 
(three  versions). 

The  first  version  was  sung  to  me  by  a  whilom  resident  of  Wootton-under- 
Edge  (Gloucestershire)  as  it  was  performed  by  the  children  of  that  village 
many  years  ago.     The  words  are  given  without  alteration. 

The  second  and  third  versions  were  sung,  respectively,  by  Mrs.  Beachy  and 
Mr.  Grimmet  at  Shipston-on-Stour  (Worcestershire).  Mr.  Grimmet's  words 
are  printed  exactly  as  he  sang  them  ;  one  small  change  has  been  made  in 
Mrs.  Beechy's  words — "  were  "  for  "  was  "  in  the  third  stanza. 

The  tune  of  the  second  version  will  be  recognised  as  a  variant  of  the  well 
known  "  Nancy  Dawson  "  air.  Mr.  Grimmet,  having  presumably  forgotten 
the  proper  air,  sang  his  words  to  the  hymn  tune  "  Sun  of  my  Soul  ". 

The  words  of  the  second  version  are  almost  exactly  the  same  as  those  printed 
on  a  broadside  by  Wadsworth  of  Birmingham.  The  text  of  the  third  version 
is  different  from  all  the  published  versions  that  I  have  seen. 

The  carol  is  very  widely  known.  Traditional  versions  with  tunes  may  be 
seen  in  Sandys,  Bramley  and  Stainer,  English  County  Songs  and  elsewhere. 

Ritson  in  his  Scotch  Songs  (I,  p.  civ)  quotes  the  following  lines,  and  says  that 
they  were  sung  during  the  Christmas  holidays  about  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  : — 

There  comes  a  ship  far  saihng  then, 
Saint  Michel  was  the  stieres-man  ; 
Saint  John  sat  in  the  horn  : 
Our  Lord  harped,  our  Lady  sang, 
And  all  the  bells  of  heaven  the}'  rang. 
On  Christ's  sondav  at  morn. 


No.  14.     THE  TEN  JOYS  OF  MARY. 

Sung  by  Mrs.  Jane  Diiddridge  at  Mark,  Somerset. 

This  carol  has  already  been  printed  in  Folk-Songs  from  Somerset  (No.  125). 

The  words  given  in  the  text  are  those  which  Mrs.  Duddridge  sang  to  me. 
She  learned  them  from  her  grandfather.  Of  several  variants  that  I  have 
collected  all,  with  one  exception,  conclude  with  the  seventh  Joy.  One  version, 
however,  noted  in  Gloucestershire,  gives  twelve  Joys,  the  fourth  lines  of  the 
last  two  stanzas  running  "  To  have  the  keys  of  heaven  "  and  "  To  have  the 
keys  of  hell." 

The  "  ten  gentlemen  "  in  the  Somerset  variant  may  possibly  refer  to  the 
cleansing  of  the  ten  lepers.  The  Gloucestershire  singer  sang  "  To  write  with 
a  golden  pen,"  which  is  probably  a  fanciful  rendering  invented  for  the  sake 
of  the  rhyme. 

Sandys  prints  two  versions  of  the  words,  the  first  of  which,  "  Joyis  five," 
is  from  the  Sloane  MS.  The  scheme  of  this  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Somerset 
carol  but  the  wording  is  different.  The  other  is  almost  identical  with  the 
first  stanzas  of  Mrs.  Duddridge's  version. 

The  carol  with  a  traditional  air  is  in  Bramlev  and  Stainer's  collection.  The 
words  are  on  broadsides  by  Evans  and  Thompson. 

6s 


No.  15.     THE  VIRGIN  UNSPOTTED. 

Sung  by  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Thomas  of  Chipping  Sodbury. 

The  first  and  second  stanzas  are  exactly  as  Mr.  Thomas  sang  them  to  me. 
The  third  hnes  of  the  second  and  fourth  stanzas,  being  obviously  corrupt, 
have  been  amended  ;  while  the  last  word  of  the  concluding  stanza,  "  Son," 
has  been  altered  to  "  King." 

The  words  in  the  text  are  almost  identical  with  those  printed  on  broadsides 
by  Wood  of  Birmingham  and  Cotton  of  Tamworth.  In  making  the  above 
mentioned  alterations  I  have  been  guided  by  these  broadsides,  from  one  of 
which,  in  all  probability,  Mr.  Thomas  originally  learned  his  words. 

Traditional  versions  of  this  carol,  with  tunes,  are  printed  in  Davies  Gilbert's 
and  Sandys's  collections. 

No.  16.     SONS  OF  LEVI. 

Sung  by  Mr.  James  Beale  and  Mrs.  Harding  at  Ham  Street. 

The  words  are  obviously  very  corrupt.  The  first  and  the  last  two  stanzas 
in  the  text  are  substantially  as  they  were  sung  to  me,  but  it  has  been  necessary 
to  make  some  small  alterations  in  the  other  two  stanzas.  In  making  these 
changes  I  have  been  guided  b}^  a  broadside  version  of  the  song  printed  by  J. 
Nicholson  of  Belfast,  which  however,  in  some  places  is  almost  as  unintelligible 
as  the  Ham  Street  version.  The  Irish  broadside  is  a  Masonic  song  in  nine 
stanzas  beginning  thus  : 

Come  all  you  Craftsmen  that  do  wish 
To  propagate  the  grand  design. 
Come,  enter  into  our  high  temple 
And  learn  the  art  that  is  divine. 

The  last  two  stanzas  given  me  at  Ham  Street  are  not  in  the  broadside. 

This  carol  is,  and  has  been  for  many  years,  annually  sung  at  Christmas  in 
Ham  Street  and  the  neighbouring  villages  by  a  party  of  male  carol  singers. 
I  have  not  found  or  heard  of  it  elsewhere  ;  nor  can  I  connect  the  air,  which 
is  a  strong  one,  with  any  other  English  folk-tune. 


No.  17.     THE  LITTLE  ROOM. 

Sung  by  Mr.  Samson  Bates  of  Lilleshall,  and  Mr.  Felton  of  Hadley,  Salop. 

This  curious  carol  is  very  popular  in  this  part  of  Shropshire  where,  despite 
its  great  length,  it  is  frequently  sung  at  Christmas  time  by  small  parties  of 
two  or  more  men.  Miss  K.  Sorby,  who  very  kindly  noted  the  tune  for  me,  tells 
me  that  Mr.  Felton  sang  the  first  fine  of  each  stanza  by  himself,  the  remaining 
three  Hnes  being  chanted  in  unison  by  both  singers.  Mr.  Bates  afterwards 
sang  the  carol,  or  part  of  it,  to  me  by  himself  and  this  enabled  me  to  note 
many  interesting  variants  of  the  music  phrases,  which  were  not,  of  course,  sung 

66 


when  the  two  men  performed  together.  I  have  not,  however,  embodied  any 
of  these  variants  in  the  air  printed  in  this  book.  The  singers  had  with  them 
a  chap-book  (from  which  the  words  in  the  text  have  been  copied),  called  A 
Good  Christmas  Box  (Dudley,  1847),  consisting  of  125  pages  and  containing 
the  words  of  48  carols,  several  of  which  are  still  sung  in  that  neighbourhood. 

The  tune  is  a  very  fine  variant  of  one  that  is  constantly  used  by  carol-singers 
{see  "  The  Sinner's  Redemption,"  No.  8  ;  Folk-Songs  from  Somerset,  No.  96  ; 
and  The  Folk-Song  Society's  Journal,  IV,  pp.  15-22). 


No.  18.  THE  TRUTH  SENT  FROM  ABOVE. 

Sung  by  Mr.  Seth  Vandrell  and  Mr.  Samuel  Bradley  of  Donnington  Wood,  Shropshire. 

This  carol  was  sung  to  me  by  the  two  singers  in  unison,  Mr.  Vandrell 
refreshing  his  memory  by  referring  to  a  small  book  of  carols,  printed  locally, 
from  which  the  words  in  the  text  have  been  transcribed.  I  have,  however, 
omitted  seven  stanzas  between  the  eighth  and  the  last.  "  The  Truth  "  is 
printed  in  A  Good  Christmas  Box,  and  is  included  in  Hone's  list. 

A  version  of  this  carol  to  a  different  tune  and  with  four  stanzas  only  of  the 
words,  noted  by  Dr.  Vaughan  Williams  at  King's  Pyon,  is  printed  in  The 
Folk-Song  Society's  Journal  (IV,  p.  17).  For  a  variant  of  the  tune  see  "  There 
is  a  Fountain  "  in  the  same  publication  (IV,  p.  21). 


No.  19.     THE  TWELVE  APOSTLES. 

Sung  by  Mr.  Samson  Bates  of  Lillcshall,  Shropshire. 

Mr.  Bates  sang  from  a  copy  of  A  Good  Christmas  Box,  from  which  the  words 
in  the  text  have  been  copied.     The  carol  is  mentioned  in  Hone's  list. 


No.  20.     NEW  YEAR'S  CAROL. 

Sung  by  Mr.  Seth  Vandrell  and  Mr.  Samuel  Bradley  of  Donnington  Wood,  Shropshire. 

The  two  singers,  who  sang  in  unison,  could  only  remember  the  words  of  the 
first  and  the  last  stanzas.  I  also  noted  a  variant  from  Mr.  Samson  Bates. 
The  carol  is  printed  in  A  Good  Christmas  Box,  but,  as  unfortunately  this 
particular  page  was  missing  from  his  copy,  Mr.  Bates  was  compelled  to  sing 
from  memory.  Nearly  all  the  lines  in  the  text  have  been  taken  from  another 
chap-book  (undated,  printed  by  J.  Bates,  New  Town,  Bilston),  but,  in  a  few 
cases,  I  have  adhered  to  the  words  that  Mr.  Bates  sang.  I  do  not  know 
what  the  word  "  pearly  "  in  the  second  stanza  may  mean.  Mr.  Bates  cc^uld 
not  explain  it. 

The  tune  is  in  the  dorian  mode  and  has  affinities  with  the  airs  of  "  The  Moon 
shines  bnght  "  (No.  5),  and  "  God  bless  you,  merry  gentlemen  "  (No.  6). 


No.  21.     WASSAIL  SONG. 

Sung  by  Mr.  William  Bayliss  atBuckland  {Gloucestershire). 

The  first  six  stanzas  in  the  text  are  those  that  Mr.  Bayhss  gave  me  ;  they 
are  printed  without  any  alteration.  The  last  three  stanzas  are  from  a  variant 
sung  to  me  by  Mr.  Isaac  Bennett  of  Little  Sodbury  (Gloucestershire).  The 
words  are  very  similar  to,  but  not  identical  with,  those  of  "  The  Gloucester- 
shire Wassailer's  Song  "  quoted  by  Bell  {Ballads  and  Songs  of  the  Peasantry 
of  England,  p.  183). 

Three  Somerset  variants  of  the  Wassail  Song  are  published  in  Folk-Songs 
from  Somerset  (Nos.  128-30)  with  explanatory  notes,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred.  The  Gloucestershire  Wassail  song,  of  which  Mr.  Bayliss's  version 
is  I  think  a  typical  example,  materially  differs  from  that  of  Somerset  and,  I 
believe,  from  that  of  other  counties  as  well.