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Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song

22 Jan 00 - 11:55 AM (#166700)
Subject: Lyr Add: CAROL FOR THE TWELFTH DAY
From: GUEST,Conrad Bladey cbladey@mail.bcpl.net

A wondeful Wassail Song- midi/abc/notation on the Wassail Epicenter Pages: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5567/wassail.html

CAROL FOR THE TWELFTH DAY
For Midi sound click here

Sweet master of thei habitation
With my mistress be so kind
As to grant an invitation
If we may this favor find
To be now invited in
Then with mirth we will begin.
Happy sweet and pleasant songs which unto this time belongs.

Chorus
Let every loyal honest soul
Contribute to the wassail bowl.

So may you still enjoy the blessing
Of a loving virtuous wife,
Riches, honour still possessing
With a long and happy life,
Living in prosperity
Then let generosity
Always be maintained I pray.
Don't forget the good old way.

Before the season is departed
In your presence we appear,
Therefore soon be noble hearted
To afford som dainty cheer
Freely let us have it now
Since the season doth allow.
What the house doth now afford
Should be plac'd upon the board

Chorus
Whether it be roast beef or fowl
And liquour well the wassel bowl.

For now it is a time of leisure,
Then to those that kindness show
May they have wealth, peace and pleasure
And the spring of bounty flow
To enrich them while they live
That they may afford to give,
To maintain the good old way
Many a long and happy day

Chorus
Let every loyal honest soul
Contribute to the wassail bowl.
 

You worthy are to be commended
 I in this you will not fail.
Now our song is almost ended
Fill our bowl with nappy ale.
Then we'll drink afull carouse
To the master of this house
Aye and to our mistress dear
Wishing both a happy year,
In peace and love without controul
Who brought Joy to our wasel bowl.
^^

-No. 37 from the MS belonging to Miss. Minnie Davies Gilbert and Mrs. Patience Harding, great granddaughters of the original collector. The MS of Cornish Carols wascompiled for Davies Gilbert by John Hutchens about 1826, as cited in: Canow Kernow., ed. Inglis Gundry, The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, 1966. Pp.18-19.

22 Jan 00 - 02:02 PM (#166757)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song
From: GUEST,margaret

Cool! I've been looking for Twelfth Night (or Day!) songs that pre-date 1820 for purposes of a Twelfth Night program I run at a museum. Do you know more about the song's association with Twelfth Day other than the reference to "before the season is departed"? Thanks for posting this! Margaret

22 Jan 00 - 02:25 PM (#166767)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song
From: GUEST,conrad bladey cbladey@mail.bcpl.net

You should perhaps check out the Wassail Epicenter- http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5567/wassail.html you will find that 12th/day/night is inter twined with wassail.

have fun! always glad to help!

Conrad

30 Nov 20 - 03:34 PM (#4081448)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song
From: Joe Offer

Why is "wassail" spelled so many different ways in this song? Is that intentional? Casey Casebeer sings this.

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index. Not much to go on.

Carol for Twelfth Day

DESCRIPTION: "Sweet master of this habitation, With my mistress be so kind As to grant an invitation If we may this favor find" to join the musical party and "contribute to the wasel bowl." May the master have a virtuous wife and may all have a fine meal
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966 (Gundry)
KEYWORDS: food party wassail nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gundry, p. 18, "Carol for Twelfth Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3312
File: Gund018

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2020 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

The lyrics in the Digital Tradition are taken from Conrad's post above.

30 Nov 20 - 04:42 PM (#4081456)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song
From: Reinhard

Looks like typos, Joe. The carol in Canow Kernow, where Conrad got it from, consistently spells it "wasel bowl".

Reinhard's Mainly Norfolk page on Carol for Twelfth Day / Cornish Wassail Song:

30 Nov 20 - 10:55 PM (#4081476)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song
From: GerryM

Many typos in the lyrics given here:

Stanza 1, line 1: thei
Stanza 3, line 4: som
Last stanza, 2nd line: I; 5th line: afull; 9th line: controul

I really want to mark "nappy ale" as a typo, but I'm afraid it's not.

30 Nov 20 - 11:30 PM (#4081478)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Cornish Twelfth Day/Wassail Song
From: Joe Offer

Here's a better transcription: https://www.springthyme.co.uk/ah09/ah09_14.html

CAROL FOR THE TWELFTH DAY

1: Sweet master of this habitation with our mistress be so kind,
As to grant an invitation that we may this favour find;
To be now invited in, then with mirth we will begin,
Happy, sweet and pleasant songs which unto this time belongs.
Let every loyal, honest soul,
Contribute to the wassail bowl.

2: So may you still enjoy the blessing of a loving, virtuous wife,
Riches, honour still possessing and a long and happy life;
Living in prosperity then let generosity,
Always be maintained I pray, don’t forget the good old way.
Let every loyal, honest soul,
Contribute to the wassail bowl.

3: So now before the season is departed in your presence we appear,
Therefore then be noble-hearted and afford some dainty cheer;
Freely let us have it now what the season doth allow,
What the house may now afford should be placed upon the board.
Whether it be roast beef or fowl ,
And liquor well the wassail bowl.

4: For it is a time of leisure then to those that kindness show,
May they have wealth, peace and pleasure and the spring of bounty flow,
To enrich them while they live that they may afford to give,
To maintain the good old way, many a long and happy day.
Let every loyal, honest soul,
Contribute to the wassail bowl.

5: You worthy are to be commended if in this you will not fail,
Now our song is almost ended fill our bowl with nappy ale;
Then we’ll drink a full carouse to the master of this house,
Aye and to our mistress dear, wishing both a happy year.
In peace and love without control,
Who brought joy to our wassail bowl.


A wassailing song from Cornwall. Bob (Lewis) put this song together from various sources, but the only person he ever heard sing it was his father who remembered it being sung by the wassailers in his youth as they travelled from door to door near his home in Cornwall (Roud 3312).