The Cherry-Tree Carol- Wooten (KY) c. 1886 collected c. 1914, published1916 McGill; also Sharp C
[From The Cherry-Tree Carol by Josephine McGill; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 29, No. 112 (Apr. - Jun., 1916), pp. 293-294.
McGill was from Louisville, Kentucky and studied music in NYC. She collected this ballad in the summer of 1914 or 1915 and the article came out in April and in the Sept. JAF the music was added. Did Cecil Sharp see the article and ask to find Wooten? Probably not, but what likely happened is: he was alerted to see Wooten when he visited Hindman School, KY.
McGill's ballad was taken from the same informant and therefore this is nearly identical to Sharp's Version C collected from Wooten in 1917. See Sharp's text below. One difference is the last stanza which differs in the day of January given. Sharp/Karpeles notes in the 1932 edition comment:
"The references to the birthday do not appear in the English texts. It is of interest that the date is given in texts B and C as 'the fifth day of January' which according to ' Old Style' reckoning was the date of Christmas Day between the years 1752 and 1799. In 1751, when a change in the calendar had become expedient, eleven days were dropped out between September 2nd and 14th, 1752, thus making January 5th the date of Old Christmas Day, In 1800, another day was taken from the calendar, and in 1900 still another, so that Old Christmas Day now falls on January 7th, In Miss McGill's version the date is given as the 6th of January."
R. Matteson 2014]
THE CHERRY-TREE CAROL
BY JOSEPHINE McGILL
AMONG recent additions to the list of American versions of British ballads is "The Cherry-Tree" (Child, No. 54). This quaint and beautiful carol was found by the present writer in the mountain region of Kentucky near Hindman, Knott County. The text is based on an apochryphal story in the Pseudo-Matthew Gospel, xx. The earliest English version is to be found in the fifteenth-century mysteries, where, as in all English versions, the cherry-tree figures. In some Continental versions the date-tree, which has the authority of the Apochrypha, is preserved (see Child). [The source, music and the fact that the last two lines are repeated were not mentioned in this article. The next JOAFL issue added these details. R. Matteson 2012]
1. When Joseph was an old man,
An old man was he,
He married Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee.
[He married Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee.]
2. As Joseph and Mary
Were walking one day:
"Here are apples, here are cherries
Enough to behold."
3. Then Mary spoke to Joseph
So meek and so mild:
"Joseph, gather me some cherries,
For I am with child."
4. Then Joseph flew in anger,
In anger flew he:
"Let the father of the baby
Gather cherries for thee."
5. Then Jesus spoke a few words,
A few words spoke he:
"Let my mother have some cherries;
Bow low down, cherry-tree."
6. The cherry-tree bowed low down,
Bowed low down to the ground,
And Mary gathered cherries
While Joseph stood around.
7. Then Joseph took Mary
All on his right knee:
"O, what have I done?
Lord have mercy on me!"
8. Then Joseph took Mary all,
All on his left knee:
"O, tell me, little baby,
When thy birthday will be."
9. "On the sixth day of January
My birthday will be,
When the stars in the elements
Shall tremble with glee."
So far as the present collector knows, this lovely antique carol has not hitherto been tabulated among the versions of British ballads found in America.
Significant in connection with the last stanza is the fact that in certain sections of the Kentucky mountains Christmas is still celebrated on January the sixth (Old Christmas).
LOUISVILLE, KY.
1 Professor C. Alphonso Smith reports a version from Miss Ellen Dana Conway, Spottsylvania County, Virginia, sung by an old negro who originally belonged to a family in Orange County, Virginia (Virginia Folk-Lore Society, Bulletin, vol. ii, No. 4, March, 1916). The first stanza only is printed:
"Joseph was an old man,
And an old man was he,
And he married Mary,
The Queen of Galilee." - Eds.
[The text given in the 1916 JOAFL (above) was incorrect, or at least it's different in Davis: Traditional Ballads of Virginia:
The Cherry-Tree Carol
Joseph was an old man,
And an old man was he,
What* time he married Mary,
Way down in Galilee.
* perhaps What=One]
The Cherry-Tree Carol (addendum to first article)
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 29, No. 113 (Jul. - Sep., 1916), p. 417
THE CHERRY-TREE CAROL.-- The version of the " Cherry-Tree Carol" published in the last number of the Journal was obtained by Miss McGill from the singing of Mr. Will Wooten, of Knott County, Kentucky. He learned it from his grandmother, who died about thirty years ago at a very advanced age. She came from North Carolina, and her people were from England. The music follows.
When Jo - seph was an old man, An old man was
he. He mar- ried Vir - gin Ma - ry, The Queen of Gal - ilee,
He mar - ried Vir-gin Ma - ry, The Queen of Gal - i - lee.
_________________
C. When Joseph Was A Young Man- Sung by Mr. William Wooton at Hindman, Knott Co., Ky., Sept. 21, 1917; From Maud Karpeles, ed., English Folk Songs From The Southern Appalachians Collected by Cecil Sharp, Vol. 1 (London: Oxford University Press / Humphrey Milford, 1932), #15C, pp. 92-3
Pentatonic. Mode 3.
1. When Joseph was a young man,
A young man was he,
He courted Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee,
He courted Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee.
2. As Joseph and Mary
Were walking one day,
Here is apples and cherries
Enough to behold.
3. Then Mary spoke to Joseph
So neat (meek?) and so mild:
Joseph, gather me some cherries,
For I am with child.
4. Then Joseph flew in angry,
In angry he flew:
Let the father of the baby
Gather cherries for you.
5. Lord Jesus spoke a few words
All down unto them:
Bow low down, low down, cherry tree,
Let the mother have some.
6. The cherry tree bowed low down,
Low down to the ground,
And Mary gathered cherries
While Joseph stood around.
7. Then Joseph took Mary
All on his right knee.
He cried: O Lord, have mercy
For what have I done.
8. And Joseph took Mary
All on his left knee.
Pray tell me, little baby,
When your birthday will be?
9. On the fifth day of January
My birthday will be,
When the stars and the elements
Doth tremble with fear.