Nowell Sing We Clear (Tony Barrand, Fred Breunig, Andy Davis, and John Roberts) on Golden Hind Music Just Say Nowell

Notes and Lyrics

1. The Truth from Above
This is the text and tune from the Oxford Book of Carols [#68] edited by Percy Dearmer, Ralph Vaughn Williams, and Martin Shaw (Oxford University Press, 1928) It was collected by Cecil Sharp from Mr. W. Jenkins of Kingís Pyon in Herefordshire, England. The setting is from Vaughn Williams. It is included in Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrottís edition of the New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford University Press, 1992) [hereafter referred to as NOBC] with a fuller text, as is their wont.

This is the truth sent from above
The truth of God the God of love
Therefore donít turn me from your door
But hearken well both rich and poor

The first thing which I do relate
Is that God did man create
The next thing which to you Iíll tell
Woman was made with man to dwell

Thus we were heirs to endless woes
Till God the Lord did interpose
And so a promise soon did run
That He would redeem us by His Son

And at that season of the year
Our blest Redeemer did appear
He here did live and here did preach
And many thousand He did teach

Thus He in love to us behaved
To show us how we must be saved
And if you want to know the way
Be pleased to hear what he did say
 
2. Babe of Bethlehem
This is from Christmas Carols New and Old edited by  Rev. Henry Ramsden Bramley and Sir John Stainer (London: Novello & Co., 1871, #XXXI, pp. 66-67), one of the first compilations of carols with settings for keyboard and voices.

1. The babe in Bethlem's manger laid
In humble form so low
By wandering angels is surveyed
Through all his scenes of woe

Chorus:
Nowell, Nowell, now sing a Saviourís birth
All hail His coming down to Earth
Who raises us to heaven

2. A Saviour! sinners all around
 Sing, shout the wondrous word;
Let every bosom hail the sound
A Saviour ! Christ the Lord
 
3  For not to sit on David's throne
With worldly pomp and joy,
He came for sinners to atone,
And Satan to destroy.

4  To preach the Word of Life Divine,
And feed with living Bread,
To heal the sick with hand benign,
And raise to life the dead.

5  He preached, He suffered, bled and died,
Uplift 'twixt earth and skies
In sinners' stead was crucified,
For sin a sacrifice.

6  Well may we sing a Saviour's birth,
Who need the grace so given,
And hail His coming down to earth,
Who raises us to Heaven.
 

3. The First Nowell
I first heard this at a Wassail party near Burnley in Lancashire. Itís the familiar Yorkshire tune to the song ìYoung Bankerî from the Frank Kidson  MSS, contributed by Charles Lolley of Leeds in Yorkshire, who gave a number of songs to Kidsonís Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs (1891, reprinted  by S. R. Publishers, 1970).The text is from William Sandysí Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (London, 1833).

The first Nowell the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay fast asleep
On a cold winterís night that was so deep

Chorus: Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell Born is the King of Israel (bis)

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far
To the earth it gave great light
And so it did continue both day and night

And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from country far
To seek for a King was their intent
And to follow the star wherever it went

This star drew nigh to the north-west
Over Bethlehem it took its rest
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay

Then entered in those wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee
And offered there in his presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense
 

4. The Cherry Tree Carol
New OBC #128-I, p.440-1 suggest that this is ìone of the great English folk melodiesî found in variants on both sides of the Atlantic.(p. 445) The text is adapted from Hone, Ancient Mysteries Described (London 1822).

Joseph was an old man and an old man was he
When he wedded Mary in the land of Galilee

When Joseph was married and Mary home had got,
 Mary proved with child, by whom Joseph knew not.

Joseph and Mary walked through an orchard good,
Where was cherries and berries, as 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, so meek and so mild:
'Pluck me a cherry, Joseph; they run so in my mind.'

O then bespoke Joseph, with words most reviled:
'Let him pluck thee a cherry that brought thee with child.'

O then bespoke Jesus, all in his mother's womb:
'Bow down, then, thou tallest tree, for my mother to have some!

'Go to the tree, Mother Mary, and it shall bow to thee,
And the highest branch of all shall bow down to your knee.'

Then bowed down the tallest tree, it bent to Mary's hand;
Then she cried: 'See, Joseph, I have cherries at command.'

O then bespoke Joseph: 'I have done Mary wrong.
So cheer up, my dearest, do not be cast down!

Then Mary plucked a cherry, as red as any blood;
And she traveled onward, all with her heavy load.
 

5. London
We are indebted to Nym Cookeís invaluable compilation, Awake to Joy: Christmas Carols for Part-Singing, (Lyme, NH: Toad Hill Music Engraving for the Compiler, 1995) both for Timothy Swanís setting of ìLondonî (from his New England Harmony, Northampton, MA, 1801) and for his suggestion that Swan may have based the text on the first verse of William Billingsí ìShiloh,î (also in Awake to Joy) which we used as a second verse.

Methinks I hear the heavíns resound
And all the Earth exulting ring
 To usher in this glorious day
 And hail the spotless infant King

Methinks I see a heavínly host
Of angels dancing on the wing
 Methinks I hear their cheerful notes
 So merrily they dance and sing

6. The Blessings of Mary
NOBC #131-III, p.460-461 collected by Richard Chase from Will Brady of Carthage, NC (Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 48, No. 390, 1935).

1. The  very first blessing that Mary had, it was the blessing of one:
To  think that her Son, Jesus, could live a  father's  son;

Chorus:
Could live a  father's  son; like Emmanuel   in glory
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, through all eternity

2  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of two:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could read the Scriptures through;

3  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of three:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could set the sinner free;

4  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of four:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could live for everinore;

5  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of five:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could bring the dead alive;

6  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of six:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could heal and cure the sick

7  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of seven:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could conquer heil and he~n

8  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of eight:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could make the crooked straight;

9  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the Nes sing of nine:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could turn water into wine;

10  The very next blessing Mary had, it was the blessing of ten:
To think that her Son, Jesus, could write without a pen;

7. I Saw a Maiden
NOBC 109-II, p. 389. This Edgar Pettimanís (1865-1943) setting of a Fifteenth century text (Sloan Manuscript, British Library 2593) using a Basque tune.

1. I saw a maiden sitting and sing:
She lullíd her child, a little lording

Chorus:
Lullay. lullay, my dear son, my sweeting;
Lullay, lullay, my dear son, my own dear dearing.

2 This very Lord, he made all things,
And this very God, the King of all kings.

3 There was sweet music at this child's birth,
And heaven filled with angels making much mirth.

4 Heaven's angels sang to welcome the child
Now born of a maid, all undefiled.

5 Pray we and sing on this festal day
That peace may dwell with us alway.

8. Chariots (© Squeezer Music)
John Kirkpatrick was commissioned to wrote a couple of new carols for  ìWassailî tour organized by Folkworks in the north of England in 1995. This new classic, through-composed for band, solo voices and a small choir, I affectionately  call ìThe Carol of the Alliteration.î John kindly sent us the score and we have remained faithful to it within our own limitations. After we first year sang it, people asked if ìthat songî was going to be on the next CD. We knew which one they meant.

1. O Shepherd O shepherd come leave off your piping
Come listen come learn come hear what I say
For now is the time that has long been forespoken
For now is the time thereíll be new tunes to play
For soon there comes one who brings a new music
Of sweetness and clarity none can compare
So open your heart for heavenly harmony
Here on this hill will be filling the air

Chorus:
With chariots of cherubim chanting
And seraphim singing hosanna
And a choir of archangels a-caroling come
Hallelujah Hallelu
All the angels a-trumpeting glory
In praise of the Prince of Peace

2. See on yon stable the starlight is shimmering
And glimmering and glistening and glowing with glee
In Bethlehem blest this baby of bliss will be
Born here before you as bold as can be
And youíll be the first to hear the new symphony
Songs full of  gladness  and glory and light
So learn your tunes well and play your pipes proudly
For the Prince of Paradise plays here tonight

3. Bring your sheep bleating to this happy meeting
To hear how the lamb with the lion shall lie
Itís mooing and braying youíll hear the song saying
The humble and lowly will be the most high
Let the horn of the herdsman be heard up in heaven
For the gates are flung open for all who come near
And the simplest of souls shall sing to infinity
Lift up and listen and you shall hear

4. The warmongerís charger will thunder for freedom
The gun-makerís furnace will dwindle and die
And  muskets and sabers and swords shall be sundered
Surrendered to the sound that is sweeping the sky
And the shoes of the mighty shall dance to new measures
And the jackboots of generals shall jangle no more
As sister and brother and father and mother
Agree with each other the end to all war

5. As a candle can conquer the demons of darkness
As a flame can keep frost from the deepest of cold
So a song can give hope in the depths of all danger
And a line of pure melody soar in your soul
So sing your songs well and sing your songs sweetly
And swear that your singing it never shall cease
So the clatter of battle and drums of disaster
Be drowned in the sound of the pipes of peace

9. The Holly and the Ivy
Sometimes to the annoyance of our friends and family, we have learned several versions of this carol. This one was an internet gift. David Le Barre sent me a scanned copy of a four-part setting labeled only as an ìOld French Melody, 1861.î By the time we decided we liked it and wanted more information, David had forgotten where he found it! He eventually pinned it down to  Take Joy : The Tasha Tudor Christmas Book, (New York: Philomel Books, 1966) and we then discovered the unusual tune in Bramley and Stainerís Christmas Carols New and Old (No. XXIII, pp. 50-51, see above note for #2) with a different setting (also reprinted in Nym Cookeís Awake to Joy: Christmas Carols for Part-Singing, see above notes for #5).

The Holly and the Ivy now both are full well grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood the Holly bears the crown

Chorus:
O the rising of the sun, the running of the deer
The playing of the organ, sweet singing all in the choir
Sweet singing all in the choir

The Holly bears a berry as white as any milk
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ all wrapped up in silk

The Holly bears a berry as green as any grass
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ who died upon the cross

The Holly bears a berry as red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ to do poor sinners good

The Holly bears a berry as black as any coal
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ who died to save us all

The Holly and the Ivy now both are full well grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood the Holly bears the crown

10. Joy to the World
From Mike Bailey  and Rollo Woods. West Gallery Carols and Anthems, Published by the singing group, The Madding Crowd, 1991, pp. 11-15. the anthem is by Thomas Shoel of Montacute, Somerset based on Isaac Wattsí Psalm 98. This setting is from Nosworthy TN2, similar to others in MSS from Widecombe.

Joy to the world! Joy to the world the Lord is come!
Let Earth receive her King! Let Earth receive her King!
Let Earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing.

No more let sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make each blessing flow
Far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love

Joy to the world! Joy to the world!
The savior reigns, the Savior reigns.
Let men their tongues employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy.

11. Christemas Hath made an End or Well-a-day
Our setting is based on the one from the NOBC #154, p.530-1 which is from NewCarolls (1661). The tune is also known as ìThe Yorkshire Gooding Carolî, which was sung by children door-to-door bearing a tree on Christmas morning. William Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time, 1859) suggests that it is related to the other ìWelladayî we learned from his collection and recorded (Nowell Sing We Clear Vol. 4, GHM , 1987).

1. Christemas hath made an end, Well-a-day! well-a-day!
Which was my dearest friend, More is the pity!
For with an heavy heart must I from thee depart
To follow plow and cart all the year after

Chorus:
Christemas hath made an End, Well-a-day! well-a-day!
Which was my dearest friend, More is the pity!

2. Lent is fast coming on, Well-a-day! well-a-day!
That loves not anyone, More is the pity!
For I doubt both my cheeks will look thin from eating leeks;
Wise is he then that seeks for a friend in a comer.

3. All of our good cheer is gone, Well-a-day! well-a-day!
And turned to a bone, More is the pity!
In my good master's house I shall eat no more souse*
Then give me one carouse, Gentle kind butler!

4. It grieves me to the heart, Well-a-day' well-a-day'
From my friend to depart, More is the pity!
Christemas, I fear 'tis thee That thus forsaketh me:
But for one more hour, I see, Will I yet be merry.

*pickled meat or fish

12. The Ditchling Carol
According to Vic Gammon (ìHail Happy Morn: Two Sussex Church Band Carols in Old Harmonyî, English Dance and Song, 49, no. 3, pp. 11-13) the setting here was the work of Peter Parsons who died in 1901. Gammon collated the text from several local MSS. \

Chorus:
Be merry all, be merry all
With holly dress the festive hall;
Prepare the song, the feast, the ball
To welcome merry Christmas.

1. And oh remember gentles gay
For you who bask in fortunes ray,
The year is all a holiday
The poor have only Christmas.

2. When you with velvets mantled o'er
Defy December's tempest roar,
O spare one garment from your store
To clothe the poor at Christmas.

3. From blazing loads of fuel awhile
Your homes are within summer smile,
O spare one faggot from your pile
To warm the poor at Christmas.

4. When you the costly banquet deal
To guests who never famine feel,
O spare a morsel from your meal
To feed the poor at Christmas.

5. When gen'rous wine your care controls
And gives new joy to happier souls,
O spare one goblet from your bowls
To cheer the poor at Christmas.

6. So shall each note of mirth appear
More sweet to heav'n than praise or prayer,
And angels in their carols there
Shall bless the poor at Christmas.

13. Time To Remember the Poor
A remarkable tune from Kidsonís Yorkshire collection, this time from his Traditional Tunes (pp. 170-171; see above #3). It was also noted by Mr. Lolley.  The text is found on broadsides though we couldnít improve on the set used by the Mellstock Band in their recording Tenants of the
Earth.

Old Winter is come with its cold chilling breath
And the leaves are all gone from the trees
All nature seems touched by the finger of death
And the lakes are beginning to freeze
When your minds are annoyed by the wide swelling flood
And your bridges are useful no more
When in plenty you enjoy everything that is good
Thatís the time to remember the poor

The cold air and snow will in plenty descend
And whiten the prospect around
The keen cutting wind from the north will attend
And cover it over the ground
When the hills and the dales are all candied with white
And the rivers are froze on the shore
When the bright twinkling stars they proclaim the cold night
Thatís the time to remember the poor

The poor timid hare through the woods may be traced
By her footsteps indented in the snow
When our lips and our fingers are all dangling with cold
And the marksman a-shooting doth go
When the young wanton lads on the river slide
And the icicles hang at your door
When in plenty you are sitting by a warm fireside
You will tremble to think of the poor

For the times fast a-coming when our Savior on earth
All the world shall agree with one voice
All nations unite to salute the blest morn
And the whole of then earth shall rejoice
When grim death is deprived of its killing sting
And the grave rules triumphant no more
Saints angels and men hallelujah shall sing
Then the rich must remember the poor

14. Stevens Family Waysail
Dwilyn Daviesí research in Gloucestershire, in the English ìWest Country,î turned up a number of variants of Wassail visiting-custom songs and the advice that locally it is pronounced ìWay-sail.î (ìIíll give you the Waysailing Bowl, the Gloucestershire Waysailing Bowl,î English Dance and Song, 50, No. 4, pp. 2-3. We liked the version Davies collected from Mrs. Stevens of Bisley.

Waysail, waysail all over the town
Our bread it is white and our ale it is brown
Our bowl it is made of some fine apple tree
With a waysailing bowl, we'll drink unto thee.

Chorus:
Drink unto thee, drink unto thee
With a waysailing bowl, we'll drink unto thee.

Here's a health to our master and to his right arm
May God send our master a good crop of corn
A good crop of corn that we may all see
With a waysailing bowl, we'll drink unto thee, etc.

Here's a health to our master and to his right leg
May God send our master a jolly fat pig
And a jolly fat pig that we may all see
With a waysailing bowl, we'll drink unto thee, etc.

Here's a health to our master and to his right eye
May God send our master a good Christmas pie
And a good Christmas pie that we may all see
Oh, a waysailing bowl, we'll drink unto thee, etc,

Here's a health to our master and to his right ear
May God send our master a happy new year
And a happy new year that we may all see
With a waysailing bowl, we'll drink unto thee, etc.

Come butler, come butler, bring us a bowl of the best
And we hope that in Heaven your soul it may rest
But if you should bring us a bowl of your small
Then down will go butler, bowl and all
Bowl and all, etc.

There was an old woman, she had but one cow
And how to maintain it she did not know how
She built up a fire to keep her cow warm
And a little of your cider would do us no harm
         Do us no harm, etc.

15. Sound, sound your instruments of Joy
A new setting by New England composer Bruce Randall from  Nym Cookeís Awake to Joy: Christmas Carols for Part-Singing (see above #2). Additional verses are from NOBC (p. 321) which are culled from Ralph Dunstanís Second Book of Christmas Carols (1925) [v. 3] and Ben Barnicoatís Old Cornish Carols (1927) [vv. 1, 2, and 4].

1. Sound, sound, your instruments of joy! To Zion shake each string
Let shouts of universal  joy  welcome the  new born  King!

2 See! see the glad'ning dawn appears, Bright angels deck the morn;
Behold! the great I AM is given; The King of Glory born.

3 Surprising scene! stupendous love! The Lord of Life, descend!
He left His glorious realms above To be the sinner's friend.

4 Let heav'n and earth and sea proclaim Thy wondrous love abroad,
And all the universal frame Sing praises to our God.

6. A Happy New Year
Collected by Cecil Sharp from Frederick Grossman of Langport in Somerset in 1909 [#368B, p. 506 in Vol. II of Cecil Sharpís Collection of English Folk Songs, Maud Karpeles (Ed.), Oxford University Press, 1974]
 
1. The old year is past and the new year is come
And all the jolly soldiers are a beating on the drun

Chorus:
So and I wish you all a Happy New year, New Year, New Year
So and I wish you all a Happy New year

2. Here's a health to you in water I wish it was in wine
And all the money you have got I'm sure it's none of mine

3. Here's a health unto our Master and Missus likewise
And all the pretty family around  the fireside

4. We wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
You pockets full of money and your barrels full of cider