Cherry Tree Carol- Eldridge(KY) pre1937 Campbell B
[From The Journal of American Folklore; Volumes 50-51 - Page 15; 1937. Marie Campbell (1907- ) was a schoolteacher and folklorist who, between 1926 and 1934, lived, worked and traveled in the eastern Kentucky mountains. She began collecting Kentucky folklore in the summer of 1926 while working at the mountain settlement school on Caney Creek near current day Pippa Passes in Knott County, KY. In demand as a teacher from "the level country" she soon moved to the Letcher County community of Gander (now Carcassonne) where she stayed until 1934. By then, radio and University of Kentucky outposts were threatening the storytelling tradition among the mountain people.[Bio for The Christmas Play]
She wrote The Christmas Play, in 1930 which included The Cherry Tree Carol so it's likely these 3 versions came from that time period.
R. Matteson 2014]
B. [Cherry Tree Carol] This is Aunt Mary Eldridge's version. She said she "learned it from her first man."
Joseph was an old man,
An old man was he,
And he courted Virgin Mary,
A lass of Galilee.
Mary with Joseph
Was walking one day,
She saw apples and cherries,
A plenty to behold.
Mary said to to Joseph,
So meek and so mild,
"Joseph, gather me some cherries,
For I am with child."
Joseph flew in anger,
In anger he flew,
Says, "Let the pappy of your babe,
Gather cherries for you."
The cherry tree bowed down,
It was low on the ground,
And Mary gathered cherries,
While Joseph stood around.