The "Sans Day Carol", also known as "St. Day Carol" and "The Holly Bears a Berry", is a traditional
Cornish Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
carol named after the Cornish village of
St Day
St Day ( kw, Sen Day) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner, Cornwall, Lanner ...
, where it was found around the turn of the twentieth century. The song, which is listed as no. 35 in the ''Oxford Book of Carols,'' is very closely related to the more famous carol "
The Holly and the Ivy
"The Holly and the Ivy" is a traditional British folk Christmas carol, listed as number 514 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The song can be traced only as far as the early nineteenth century, but the lyrics reflect an association between holly a ...
". According to the
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
, the "Sans Day Carol" and "The Holly and the Ivy" are variants of the same song (Roud
514
__NOTOC__
Year 514 (DXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cassiodorus without colleague (or, less frequently, year ...
).
Origin
The carol and its melody were first collected and transcribed by
Gilbert Hunter Doble
Gilbert Hunter Doble (26 November 1880 – 15 April 1945) was an Anglican priest and Cornish historian and hagiographer.
Early life
G. H. Doble was born in Penzance, Cornwall, on 26 November 1880. His father, John Medley Doble, shared his enthus ...
from the singing of W.D. Watson of Penzance, Cornwall, the Borough of Penzance's Head Gardener. Watson had learned the song in the early 1900s from a man aged around fifty or sixty years named Thomas Beard, a villager in
St Day
St Day ( kw, Sen Day) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated between the village of Chacewater and the town of Redruth. The electoral ward St Day and Lanner, Cornwall, Lanner ...
in the parish of
Gwennap
Gwennap ( kw, Lannwenep (village), Pluw Wenep (parish)) is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is about five miles (8 km) southeast of Redruth. Hamlets of Burncoose, Comford, Coombe, Gwennap, Coomb ...
,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
.
In the early 1930s, the American folklorist
James Madison Carpenter
James Madison Carpenter, born in 1888 in Blacklands, Mississippi, near Booneville, in Prentiss County, was a Methodist minister and scholar of American and British folklore. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the U ...
recorded W.D. Watson singing the song on
wax cylinder
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...
; the recording can be heard online via the
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. It is a multi-media library comprising books, periodical ...
.
W.D. Watson translated the song into
Cornish, which he thought had been the original language of the song, and added a fourth verse.
After learning the song from W.D. Watson in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, Doble arranged the carol, altering it slightly, and publishing it in 1929.
The fourth verse published by Doble is a translation of the "Ma gron war'n gelln" verse written by Watson.
Text
The most common and earliest used text for this carol is as follows:
1. Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,
And Mary bore Jesus, who was wrapped up in silk:
''Chorus'': And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be,
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly.
Holly! Holly!
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!
2. Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross:
''Chorus''
3. Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all:
''Chorus''
4. Now the holly bears a berry, as blood is it red,
Then trust we our Saviour, who rose from the dead:
''Chorus''
"When the Angel Came to Mary"
British
hymnodist
A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...
Michael Perry composed the text "When the Angel Came to Mary" which is also sung to the Sans Day Carol.
Recorded versions
* 1965 -
The Watersons
The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies. They have been called the "most famous fam ...
- ''Frost and Fire: A Calendar of Ceremonial Folk Songs''
* 1976 -
Philip Ledger
Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, CBE, FRSE (12 December 1937 – 18 November 2012) was an English classical musician, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge in 1974–1982 and of the Royal Scott ...
and the
King's College Choir - ''Carols for Christmas Eve''
* 1988 -
Rita MacNeil
Rita MacNeil (May 28, 1944 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray t ...
- ''
Now the Bells Ring''
* 1991 -
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous wi ...
- ''
The Bells of Dublin
''The Bells of Dublin'' is a 1991 album of Christmas songs and traditional music, traditional Christmas carols, carols by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Br ...
''
* 1993 -
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music.
Biography
Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...
and the
Cambridge Singers
The Cambridge Singers is an English mixed voice chamber choir formed in 1981 by their director John Rutter with the primary purpose of making recordings under their own label Collegium Records.
The group initially comprised former singers from ...
- ''Christmas Day in the Morning''
* 1998 -
David Hill and the Choir of
Winchester Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
- ''O Come Let Us Adore Him: Christmas Carols from Winchester Cathedral''
* 1996 - Sue White - ''Best of Cornish Folksongs, Vols I & II''
* 2004 -
Cherish the Ladies
Cherish the Ladies is an American female supergroup (music), super group that plays Celtic music. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985. It was the brainchild of Mick Moloney who wanted to showcase the brightest female ...
- ''
On Christmas Night
''On Christmas Night'' is an album by Cherish the Ladies, released in 2004 on the Rounder Records label.
Track listing
# "On Christmas Night/Charles O'Conor" – 3:28
# "The Castle of Dromore" – 4:05
# "Henry Roe McDermott/The Holly and the B ...
''
* 2006 -
Maddy Prior
Madelaine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the police dr ...
- ''
An Evening of Carols and Capers
''An Evening of Carols and Capers'' is an album by Maddy Prior with The Carnival Band.
This double album is effectively an audio version of the DVD of the same name, though the tracks vary slightly. It is a collection of live recordings from co ...
''
* 2007 -
Chris Squire
Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...
- ''
Chris Squire's Swiss Choir
''Chris Squire's Swiss Choir'' is the second and final solo album by Chris Squire. An album of traditional Christmas music, it was released in 2007 and includes former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, future King Crimson drummer and keyboardist Je ...
''
* 2008 -
Nidarosdomens Guttekor(
Nidaros Cathedral
Nidaros Cathedral ( no, Nidarosdomen / Nidaros Domkirke) is a Church of Norway cathedral located in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county. It is built over the burial site of Olav II of Norway, King Olav II (c. 995–1030, reigned 1015–102 ...
Boys' Choir) - ''I Wish''
* 2009 - Belshazzar's Feast (Paul Sartin and Paul Hutchinson)- "''Frost Bites''"
* 2011 -
Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer".
After briefly w ...
, Patsy and Alex Campbell - ''19 Rupert St '' (recorded 1967)
* 2011 -
Kate Rusby
Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English English folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, an ...
- ''While Mortals Sleep''
* 2020 - Burd Ellen - ''Says the Never Beyond''
See also
*
List of Christmas carols
This list of Christmas carols is organized by country, language or culture of origin. Originally, a "Christmas carol" referred to a piece of vocal music in carol form whose lyrics centre on the theme of Christmas or the Christmas season. The d ...
References
External links
Audio file the St Day Carol
Christmas carols
Cornish music
19th-century songs
Year of song unknown
{{Cornwall-stub