| Author | Topic: Add: The Cherry Tree Carol | |
| Mary in Kentucky | Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 01:56 am | |
The Cherry Tree Carol (Part I tune): Joseph was an old man And an old man was he, When he wedded Mary In the land of Galilee. Joseph and Mary walked Through an orchard good, Where was cherries and berries So red as any blood Joseph and Mary walked Through an orchard green Where was berries and cherries As thick as might be seen. O then bespoke Mary, With words so meek and mild, 'Pluck me one cherry, Joseph, For I am with child.' O then bespoke Joseph, With answer most unkind, 'Let him pluck thee a cherry That brought thee now with child.' O then bespoke the baby Within his mother's womb-- Bow down then the tallest tree For my mother to have some.' Then bowed down the highest tree, Unto his mother's hand. Then she cried, 'See, Joseph, I have cherries at command.' O then bespake Joseph-- 'I have done Mary wrong; But now cheer up, my dearest And do not be cast down. 'O eat your cherries, Mary, O eat your cherries now, O eat your cherries, Mary, That grow upon the bough.' Then Mary plucked a cherry, As red as any blood; Then Mary she went homewards All with her heavy load. (Part II tune): As Joseph was a-walking, He heard an angel sing: 'This night there shall be born On earth our heavenly King; 'He neither shall be born In housen nor in hall, Nor in the place of Paradise, But in an ox's stall. 'He neither shall be clothèd In purple nor in pall, But all in fair linen As wear the babies all. 'He neither shall be rockèd In silver nor in gold, But in the wooden cradle That rocks upon the mould. (last part of Part II tune): 'He neither shall be christened In white wine nor red, But with fair spring water As we were christenèd.' (Part III tune): Then Mary took her young son, And set him on her knee: Saying, 'My dear son, tell me, Tell how this world shall be.' 'O I shall be as dead, mother, As stones are in the wall; O the stones in the streets, mother, Shall sorrow for me all. 'On Easter-day, dear mother, My rising up shall be; O the sun and the moon, mother, Shall both arise with me.' Source: The Oxford Book of Carols, ed. Percy Dearmer, R. Vaughan Williams, Martin Shaw, 1928. Notes: This was one of the most popular carols, and was printed in broadsides in all parts of England. Hone gives a version, 1822, and Sandys another, 1833, identical down to v. 8 with Bullen's. The same legend, with a dialogue no less 'unkind', occurs in The Coventry Mystery Plays. Our first tune is from Husk, our second was preserved by Fyfe in his Carils of 1860, our third is also traditional. The whole story of carol-music is summed up in an incident related by Baring-Gould: about 1865 he was teaching carols to a party of mill-girls in West Riding; "and amongst them that by Dr. Gauntlett --" Saint Joseph was a walking" -- when they burst out with "Nay! we know one a great deal better nor yond"; and, lifting up their voices, they sang'. Database entry is here. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 02:45 am | |
When Joseph was an old man an old man was he, He courted Virgin Mary the Queen of Galilee. He courted Virgin Mary the Queen of Galilee. As Joseph and Mary Were walking one day, "Here are apples, here are cherries Enough to behold, Here are apples, here are cherries Enough to behold." Then Mary spoke to Joseph, So meek and so mild: "Joseph, gather me some cherries, For I am with child...&c." Then Joseph flew in anger, In anger flew he. "Let the father of the baby Gather cherries for thee...&c." Then Jesus spoke a few words, A few words spoke he: "Let my mother have some cherries, Bow low down, cherry tree...&c." The cherry tree bowed low down, Bowed low down to the ground, And Mary gathered cherries While Joseph stood around...&c." Then Joseph took Mary All on his right knee. "What have I done, Lord? Have mercy on me...&c." Then Joseph took Mary All on his left knee. "Now tell me, little baby, When thy birthday will be...&c." "On the sixth day of January My birthday will be, When the stars and the elements Shall tremble with glee!...&c." Source: The Christmas Revels Songbook, Revels, Inc., Publisher, Cambridge, 1985. Notes: This narrative ballad from Kentucky shows the close connection between the ballad and the carol, both of which had their greatest popularity in the fifteenth century. Sources for this legendary carol go back to a fifth-century apochryphal gospel describing a palm tree. This later became an apple or cherry tree as oral tradition carried the ballad to the Western world. Edited By Jon Freeman - 28-Sep-2003 07:51:14 PM | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 02:48 am | |
Is no source credited for this second example? So far as I can tell, it's the set noted by Josephine McGill, and first printed in the Journal of American Folklore (XXIX, 1916, 293, 417) and subsequently in her Folk-Songs of the Kentucky Mountains, 1917, 60. The singer was Will Wooten of Knott County, and he learned the song from his grandmother in North Carolina: she was from England, and had presumably learned the song there. (Bronson II 10, no. 55:20). The tune appears to have been slightly altered. Child 54, Roud 453. | ||
| Mary in Kentucky | Posted - 28 Sep 03 - 08:40 pm | |
The Cherry Tree When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he, He married Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee. As Joseph and Mary were walking one day, Here are apples, here are cherries enough to behold, Then Mary spoke to Joseph so meek and so mild, "Joseph, gather me some cherries, for I am with child." Then Joseph flew in anger, in anger flew he. "Let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee." Then Jesus spoke a few words, a few words spoke He, "Let my mother have some cherries, bow low down, Cherry Tree." The cherry tree bowed low down, bowed low down to the ground, And Mary gathered cherries while Joseph stood around." Then Joseph took Mary all on his right knee. "What have I done--Lord have mercy on me!" Then Joseph took Mary all on his left knee: "O tell me, little baby, when Thy birthday will be." "The sixth day of January my birthday will be, When the stars in the elements shall tremble with glee." Source: Folk-Songs of the Kentucky Mountains, Josephine McGill, 1917, p.60. Notes: The Cambridge Edition of Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads gives two versions of this carol. In version A the above stanza [2] appears thus: Joseph and Mary walked through an orchard green Where was berries and cherries as thick as might be seen. Database entry here. Edited By Mary in Kentucky - 28-Sep-2003 08:41:44 PM | ||