Cherry Tree Carol- (NC) 1946 Songs of All Time
[No informant named, or date, with music. From Songs of All Time- contributed by Edna Ritchie, Ray McLain, Richard Chase and Marie Marvel, 1946 and 1957. Stanza 5 has a different melody.
R. Matteson 2014]
Cherry Tree Carol- Clay County, North Carolina
1. When Joseph were a young man,
A young man were he,
He courted sweet Mary,
The queen of Galilee.
2. When Joseph and Mary
Were walking through Heav'n
Here is apples and cherries
Enough to behold.
3. Mary spoke to Joseph
So meek and so mild,
"Go, Joseph, and gather cherries
For I am with child."
4. Joseph spake to Mary
So rough and unkind,
"Oh, I will pluck no cherries
To give to thy kind."
5. And Mary's Saviour spoke,
Bow down, ye cherry bush,
And let my mother get some."
6. The cherry bush bowed down,
All in a bow,
And Mary gathered cherries
Off of every bough.