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"
abc | midi | pdf
Source: Bushes and Briars(Vaughan Williams), Ed Roy Palmer, ISBN 1-86143-072-8
Notes:
Collected from Mr John Evans, Dilwyn, Herefordshire, 1907 by Vaughan Williams, who noted "Mr Evans sang and wrote consistantly:Divus"
The song is often performed using a melody commonly referred to as The Star of the County Down. This name is a recent innovation (last 50 years) consequent upon its widespread dissemination on commercial recordings. 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.
Vaughan Williams used this as one of the variants of "Dives and Lazarus" in his composition of 1939.
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 (Search Roud index at VWML)
Laws:
Child: 56
Related Songs: The Thresher and the Squire (melodic)