Hi Folks,

I pass on to you an alternate take from the mouth of one of my correspondents in Ireland. I am looking for the text of any wren carols or traditions that you may know of. I have" The King; Several versions of The Wren in the Furze; Hunting The Wren and The Cutty Wren. Any other tunes, lyrics or information on the tradition would be much appreciated. I am researching a book/article/possible CD.

I know very little about wrenning although I have been familiar with the tradition since early childhood. I have memories of people 'doing the wren' from door to door in Tipperary, where my parents come from and I am only twenty-one. In fact, my cousins and I used to do the wren when we were young children, although it was traditionally done by adult males, especially young men. Friends of mine who live in the midlands (and, indeed, several members of their extended family) still do the wren every year. This family, however, never sings songs which are intended specifically for Stephen's day. Instead, they play their traditional instruments and sing and dance. People here never talk about 'wrenning', rather they say 'doing the wren' and pronounce 'wren' as though it were spelled with an 'a' (wran).

My maternal grandmother, who is almost 77 years old, sings this version, which you may already know. I suspect that the second part of the first stanza may have been misremembered or learned incorrectly. Perhaps the word was 'great' rather than grey. 'Familiar' is almost certainly wrong since my grandmother has the most extraordinary way of saying the word! 'Treat', in this context, would be pronounced like 'trait', and 'yellow' would be pronounced 'yalla'. The word 'ayaddy' probably derives from the Irish expression 'a dhaidi', which would be a way of addressing 'Daddy', or, presumably, any older man. In Irish 'a' is put before a personal name and an 'h' is added to indicate that that individual is being addressed ('Maire' becomes 'a Mhaire'). The name of any town can replace 'Tipperary':

The wran, the wran the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's day got caught in the firs.
Although he was little and familiar grey,
Rise up ayaddy and give us a treat.

We followed this wran all day, all day,
Through mud, through mire, and yellow clay,
We up with our sticks and we knocked him down
And we brought him back to Tipperary Town.

This is the wran that you may see,
There's a scarlet scarf around his knee,
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
And give us a penny for singing the wran.

And if you're sick or if you're sore,
We'll bring the doctor to your door.
Knock at the knocker and ring at the bell
And give us a penny for singing so well.

The tune of the above carol is as follows: s. d. d. d. m. s'. m. d. / d. r.
r. r. d. t. l. s. / s. d. d. d. m. s'. m. d. / d. r. r. r. s. l. t. d.

My grandmother thought she could remember other verses, especially one which involved asking for cake (barm brack) if they could not have money, but she could not remember it exactly. Apparently it was the custom for the owners of stores to give away a free 'barm brack' (a traditional Irish fruity cake often associated with Halloween) with the Christmas shopping. My paternal grandmother hails from Co. Kilkenny and she only remembered that the wran boys used to sing the following:

The wran, the wran, the king of all birds,
On St. Stephen's day got caught in the firs,
Up with the kettle and down with the pan,
Give us your answer and let us be gone.

A friend of mine is convinced that the correct words for the end of this stanza are 'Give us a penny to bury the wren'!

wdoody@internetcds.com