Lyrics
1. Wassail, wassail, all over the town,
Our toast it is white, and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee,
Drink to thee, Drink to thee,
With the was-sail-ing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
2. Here is to Cherry* and to his right cheek,
Pray God send my master a good piece of beef,
And a good piece of beef that we may all see;
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
Drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
3. Here is Cherry and to his right eye,
Pray God send my master a good Christmas pie,
And a good Christmas pie that may we all see;
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
Drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
4. Here is to Cherry and to his right arm,
May God send my master a good crop of corn,
And a good crop of corn that may we all see;
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
Drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
5. Here is to Cherry and to his left ear,
Pray God send my master a barrel of beer,
And a barrel of beer that we may all see;
With our wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
Drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
6. Here’s to our cow and to her long tail
Pray God send our master he never may fail
A bowl of strong beer; I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear.
We’ll drink to thee, drink to thee,
And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear.
7. Come, butler, come fill us a bowl of the best,
Then I hope that your soul in heaven may rest;
But if you do draw us a bowl of the small,
Then down fall butler, bowl and all!
We’ll drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
8. Where is the maid with the lily white smock,
That do trip to the door and draw back the lock?
O let us all in and see how you do,
Saying: Nan, if you will, we will welcome you too,
We’ll drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing bowl we’ll drink to thee.
* The name of a favourite horse.
Additional Information
The original text contained the following note:
Sung by Mr. William Bayliss at Buckland (Gloucestershire).
The first six stanzas in the text are those that Mr. Bayliss gave me; they are printed without any alteration. The last three stanzas are from a variant sung to me by Mr. Isaac Bennett of Little Sodbury (Gloucestershire). The words are very similar to, but not identical with, those of “The Gloucestershire Wassailer’s Song” quoted by Bell (Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 183).
Three Somerset variants of the Wassail Song are published in Folk-Songs from Somerset (Nos. 128-30) with explanatory notes, to which the reader is referred. The Gloucestershire Wassail song, of which Mr. Bayliss’s version is I think a typical example, materially differs from that of Somerset and, I believe, from that of other counties as well.
“English Folk-Carols with Pianoforte Accompaniment and and Introduction and Notes” Collected in various parts of England by Cecil J. Sharp, 1911, p. 85.
Mountain Dulcimer Tab
This is a mountain dulcimer arrangement of a Gloucestershire Wassail Song from “English Folk Carols” by Cecil Sharp, 1911. The tuning for this arrangement is DGD. Please note that in the notation below, the key signature should be G (with an F#), not C. I will try to fix this soon.
More Music
If you’re interested in more music history, holiday songs, or dulcimer tab, be sure to check out Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly, A Comprehensive Musical History.
Supporting Handy Finch
If you like the tab, please consider joining the Handy Finch flock on Patreon! What’s Patreon? It’s a subscription based payment platform that connects creators with their supporters!
Here’s how it works:
- Go to Patreon.com and sign up for a patron account
- Find my page: www.patreon.com/handyfinch
- Decide how much you want to contribute, pay as little or as much a month as you want!
- Cancel your subscription at any time, and you won’t be charged again the next month.
Why become a Patron?
- Patrons can access the Printables section of this website. On Patreon, search for my latest “Printables Password” post, then enter the password at handyfinch.com/printables. Download as many documents as you want – they are yours to keep, even if you cancel your subscription. But keep in mind, the password will change periodically so that this benefit remains exclusive to current supporters.
- Patrons get exclusive updates on projects and posts before they appear anywhere else. You get the inside scoop on what’s going on “behind the scenes.”
- Your support means a lot. If it’s a few bucks a month or a one time donation, it’s getting put to good use – covering music lessons or books, a few more balls of yarn, or the costs of hosting a website. But more than the monetary value, what really gives me butterflies when I see a “new patron” email from Patreon, is knowing there are other people out there who share my interests and value the work that goes into making this website. Your support motivates me to keep creating, sharing, and making a difference!
Don’t want to make a commitment or set up an account? No worries! You can also show your support through “Buy Me a Coffee”!
Happy playing!
One Comment
Pingback: