| Author | Topic: Add: Dives and Lazarus | |
| dmcg | Posted - 06 Oct 02 - 10:47 am | |
Dives and Lazarus As it fell out upon one day Rich Divus made a feast And he invited all his friends And gentry of the best Then Lazarus laid him down and down And down at Dives' door "Some meat, some drink, brother Dives Bestow upon the poor." "Thou are none of mine, brother Lazarus, That lies begging at my door No meat nor drink I'll give to thee, Nor none I'll bestow on the poor." Then Lazarus laid him down and down And down at Dives' wall "Some meat, some drink, brother Dives Or with hunger starve I shall." "Thou are none of mine, brother Lazarus, That lies begging at my wall No meat nor drink I'll give to thee, But with hunger starve you shall." Then Lazarus laid him down and down And down at Dives' gate "Some meat, some drink, brother Dives For Jesus Christ his sake." "Thou are none of mine, brother Lazarus, That lies begging at my gate No meat nor drink I'll give to thee, For Jesus Christ his sake." Then Dives sent out his merry men To whip poot Lazarus away, But they had no power to strike one stroke, And threw their whips away. Then Dives sent his hungry dogs To worry poor Lazarus away, But the had no power to bite one bite So they licked his sores away. As it fell out upon one day Poor Lazarus he sickened and died. There came two angels out of heaven, His soul there to guide. "Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus, And come along with me; For there's a place in heaven provided, To sit upon an angel's knee." As it fell out upon one day That Dives sickened and died. There came two serpents out of hell, His soul there to guide. "Rise up, rise up, brother Dives, And come along with me; For there's a place in hell provided, To sit upon a serpent's knee." Then Dives lifted up his eyes And saw poor Lazarus blest: "A drop of water, brother Lazarus, For to quench my flaming thirst." "If I had as many years to live As there is blades of grass I would make it in my will secure That the devil should have no power. Oh, hell is dark, oh, hell is deep; Oh hell is full of mice, It is a pity that any poor sinful soul Should depart from our saviour, Christ." And now my carol's ended, No longer can I stay. God bless you all, both great and small, And God send you a happy New Year" Source: Bushes and Briars(Vaughan Williams), Ed Roy Palmer, ISBN 1-86143-072-8 This was just one of the 5 versions that was incorporated into his 1939 composition "Variants of 'Dives and Lazarus' for string orchestra & harp (or harps)" Database entry is here | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 06 Oct 02 - 03:46 pm | |
Sung by Mr. J. Evans of Dilwyn, Herefordshire; January 1907. Mr. Evans sang Divus, instead of Dives, throughout. Originally published in The Journal of the Folk Song Society, vol. IV (issue 14) 1910, pp. 47-8. The song was recorded on a Phonograph and transcribed from that. Only verses 1 and 14-17 above are from Mr.Evans; the others were added by Palmer from a broadside edition by Charles Heath of Monmouth. Various broadside editions (though not that of Heath) can be seen at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads Roud 477 The Roud and Laws numbers currently in the database entry belong to the Black American song Poor Lazarus, which is not related to this. | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 06 Oct 02 - 04:10 pm | |
Oops! Database entry updated and Roud/Laws numbers corrected. Thanks Malcolm. | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 16 Oct 02 - 05:26 am | |
The comment in the database, "This song is also commonly sung to a variant of The Star of the Country Down" is perhaps a little misleading and might benefit from qualification. The Star of the County Down is, so far as can be told, a composition of the early 20th century, set to a tune commonly used (much earlier!) for versions of Dives and Lazarus, Come All Ye Worthy Christian Men and The Murder of Maria Marten (among others). The earliest known examples of the tune belonged to Gilderoy, but it has not been quite settled whether the tune is originally Scottish or English. Although the melody is nowadays most commonly called The Star of the County Down, this is a recent innovation (last 50 years) consequent upon its widespread dissemination on commercial recordings. | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 16 Oct 02 - 09:41 am | |
Database updated. I think I've got the nuances right for The Star of the County Down, but please correct me again if it is still misleading or unclear. | ||
| ceri matho | Posted - 16 Mar 07 - 06:13 pm | |
The tune is known in Wales, since the mid Nineteenth century, as "Baledwyr Nefyn", 'Nefyn Balladeers' and was presumably used for that purpose. It appears as a dance tune in Nicholas Bennetts' collection "Alawon fy Ngwlad". Bennets' sources were various including one Ifor Ceri, or John Jenkins, Vicar of Kerry, itself not a million miles from Erging in Herefordshire | ||