| Author | Topic: Add: The Mistletoe Bough. | |
| Pip Freeman | Posted - 26 Jul 04 - 11:45 am | |
Mistletoe Bough, The The mistletoe hung in the castle hall, The holly branch shone on the old oak wall; And the baron's retainers were blithe and gay, And keeping their Christmas holiday. The baron beheld with a father's pride His beautiful child, young Lovell's bride. While she with her bright eyes seemed to be The star of the goodly company. Oh, the mistletoe bough, Oh, the mistletoe bough. 'I'm weary of dancing now,' she cried, 'Here, tarry a moment, I'll hide, I'll hide; And Lovell, be sure thou'rt the first to trace The clue to my secret hiding place.' Away she ran and her friends began Each tower to search, each nook to scan; And young Lovell cried, 'Oh, where doest thou hide? I am lonely without thee, my own dear bride.' Oh, the mistletoe bough, Oh, the mistletoe bough. They sought her that night and they sought her next day, They sought her in vain till a week passed away; In the highest, the lowest, the loneliest spot, Young Lovell sought wildly but found her not. Then years flew by, and their grief at last Was told as a sorrowful tale of the past; And when Lovell appeared the children cried: 'See the old man weeps for his fairy bride.' Oh, the mistletoe bough, Oh, the mistletoe bough. At length an old chest that had long lain hid Was found in the castle; they raised the lid, And a skeleton form lay mouldering there, In the bridal wreath of that lady fair. Oh sad was her fate, in sportive jest She hid from her lord in the old oak chest; It closed with a spring, and her bridal bloom Lay withering there in a living tomb. Oh, the mistletoe bough, Oh, the mistletoe bough. Source: Everyman's Book of British Ballads. Edited by Roy Palmer. Notes: Abridged from notes in the source book. There is a tradition that this ballad was inspired by an event at Exton Hall, Rutland, in the early eighteenth century. The owner's daughter Catherine Noel, aged eighteen, got into a large chest during a game of hide and seek. She was unable to open the lid and suffocated before she could be released. The ballad, written by T.H. Bayley and Sir Henry Bishop in the early 1830's, was popular in the Victorian drawing rooms, but was also taken up by traditional singers, and printed on street ballads. Edited By Jon Freeman - 26-Jul-2004 04:12:27 PM | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 26 Jul 04 - 03:50 pm | |
There are a number of broadside editions at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, dating from the 1830s onward. There are also some parodies of the song, a good indicator of its popularity: The mistletoe bough It's a perennial favourite at the traditional carol nights around Sheffield. The Roud Folk Song Index lists it at number 2336, with examples from oral currency in England, Canada and the USA; beside a lot of instances from print. | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 26 Jul 04 - 04:10 pm | |
Notes updated with Roud Number and our incorrect 1930 changed to 1830! | ||