Gloucestershire Wassail
| Gloucestershire Wassail | |
|---|---|
| by Traditional | |
| Other name | Wassail! Wassail! All Over the Town The Wassailing Bowl Wassail Song |
| Genre | Christmas carol |
| Text | Traditional |
| Language | English |
| Based on | Traditional English carol |
The Gloucestershire Wassail, also known as "Wassail! Wassail! All Over the Town", "The Wassailing Bowl" and "Wassail Song"[note 1] is an English Christmas carol from the Gloucestershire region of England, dating back to at least the 18th century,[2] but may be older.[3]
The author of the lyrics and composer of the music are unknown.[4] The first known publication of the song's current version was in 1928 in the Oxford Book of Carols,[5] however, earlier versions of the song were published, including, but not limited to, publications in 1838,[6] 1857,[7] and 1868[2] by William Chappell, Robert Bell, and William Henry Husk respectively. Husk's 1868 publication contained a reference to it being sung by wassailers in the 1790s in Gloucestershire. "Gloucestershire Wassail" has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 209.[8]
History
The song was sung in parts of England during the days of wassailing. This historical setting and the nature of its lyrics make it similar to carols such as the aforementioned Here We Come A-wassailing.[2][6][7] The current most common version of the song was first published in 1928 in the Oxford Book of Carols by one of the book's three authors, Ralph Vaughan Williams.[5] The tune was sung to him in August or July 1909 at the Swan Inn, an inn in Pembridge, Herefordshire,[9] by an old, as-of-yet unknown person from Gloucestershire.[5]
Vaughan Williams published the tune and these lyrics in 1913.[10] However, for the 1928 Oxford publication, he used different lyrics; the ones commonly sung today.[5] These lyrics he largely got from renowned folk music revivalist Cecil J Sharp,[9] as well as some from nineteenth century printed sources.[11] Sharp's collection of lyrics were published in his 1916 book English Folk Songs, Collected and Arranged with Pianoforte Accompaniment by Cecil J Sharp. In the book, Sharp wrote:
The first six stanzas in the text are those that Mr. [William] Bayliss [of Buckland] 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 Gloucestershire Wassailer's Song" quoted by [Robert] Bell (Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 183).[12]
Through the years, there have been, and to a lesser extent, still are, many different variations of the lyrics, chorus, and number of stanzas sung, depending on historical time period, geographic location, arrangement, and individual circumstance. The underlying tune used for the lyrics, has also altered considerably, depending on similar factors.[13] However, it is important to note, that the currently used version of the tune can still be documented in the two oldest written records that exist. The sheet music from Husk's 1868 book, which contains the farthest-back reference of it being sung (to the 1790s), resembles today's,[2] and in the oldest known sheet music publication, from an 1813 piece in England's Times Telescope, the tune very closely resembles today's.[14]
The American musical group Mannheim Steamroller did a popular instrumental cover of the song titled "Wassail, Wassail" on their 1984 album Christmas.[15]
Lyrics
Below are the ten traditional stanzas of lyrics, as originally published in the Oxford Book of Carols. Note the first stanza is also the chorus. It is traditionally sung at the beginning of the song and after each stanza, or some variation thereof:[5][16]
(Chorus:)
Here's to our horse, and to his right ear,
So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek
Here's to our mare, and to her right eye,
So here is to Broad Mary and to her broad horn |
And here is to Fillpail[note 3] and to her left ear
Here's to our cow, and to her long tail,
Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best
Be here any maids? I suppose here be some;
Then here's to the maid in the lily white smock |
Notes
- ^ Not to be confused with Here We Come A-wassailing, which is sometimes referred to as "The Wassail Song"[1]
- ^ A commonly sung variation of the fourth stanza is:
And here is to Dobbin and to his right eye,
Pray God send our master a good Christmas pie,
And a good Christmas pie that we may all see;
With our wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee.[16]
- ^ According to William Henry Husk's 1868 book, the name of "Fillpail" (the cow), was sometimes replaced with the name of one of the wassailer's cows. Other names of the horse and mare, given in his version of the lyrics, were also similarly replaced.[2]
- ^ There are several other common slight variations to the traditional 10 Oxford stanzas shown above. Line three of the first stanza is sometimes sung "And the wassail bowl...". Line one of the seventh stanza is sometimes sung "And here is to Colly...". And so on and so forth.[16]
References
- ^ Anderson, Douglas D. "The Wassail Song". Hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com.
- ^ a b c d e Husk, William Henry (1884). Songs of the Nativity. London: John Camden Hotten, Chiswick Press. p. 150. First part of book; contains lyrics and song information), Second part of book contains sheet music.
- ^ Wilks, Jon (13 November 2013). "Wassail All Over the World". The Grizzly Folk.
- ^ Studwell, William Emmett. The Christmas Carol Reader. 1st ed., The Haworth Press, 1995.
- ^ a b c d e Dearmer, Percy (1984). The Oxford Book of Carols. Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b Chappell, William (1838). A Collection of National English Airs Consisting of Ancient Song Ballad & Dance Tunes, Interspersed with Remarks and Anecdote, and Preceded by an Essay of English Minstrelsy. London: Chappell. p. 102. (1st part of book; contains the sheet music) & pp. 161–162 (2nd part of book; contains full lyrics)
- ^ a b Bell, Robert (1857). "Ancient Poems Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England". London: John W. Parker and Son, West Strand. pp. 183–184.
- ^ Roud, Steve. "Roud Folk Song Index Search". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- ^ a b Davies, Gwilym. "Wassail Song (Coll Vaughan Williams)". Glostrad.com.
- ^ Vaughan Williams, Ralph. "Gloucestershire Wassail (Coll. Vaughan Williams)" (PDF). Glostrad.com.
- ^ Turner, Andy. "Week 271 – The Gloucestershire Wassail". A Folk Song a Week. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ Sharp, Cecil J. (1916). English Folk Songs, Collected and Arranged with Pianoforte Accompaniment by Cecil J. Sharp. Novello & Co., LTD. Simpkin & Co., LTD. Taunton : Barnicott and Pearce, The Wessex Press.
- ^ Davies, Gwilym; Davies, Carol; Rowley, Steve. "Glostrad Folk Radio Podcast (Timestamp: 11:40)". Glostrad.com. Archived from the original (Podcast) on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 29 November 2019 suggested (help) - ^ Morneault, Jos. "The Gloucestershire Wassail". The Jovial Crew. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ Batdorf, Rodney. "Christmas 1984 - Mannheim Steamroller: Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Douglas D. "Wassail! Wassail! All Over The Town". Hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com.