I've known "the Bitter Withy" for years, in Peter Bellamy's version, when he was with Young Tradition. I've always thought the first two lines were: "As it fell out on a bright holiday, Small ale from the sky did fall". Isn't this just a figurative term - everywhere you look there's small ale (i.e. weak beer) - like the modern "it's raining men"! If it was a bright holiday and the infant Jesus built a bridge from the beams of the sun, how come it was hailing? And why "small" hail? I rest my case.
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