Cherry Tree Carol- Hampton (KY) 1937 Campbell C
[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]
C. [Cherry Tree Carol] - Mint and Henry Hampton sang this version.
Oh 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 Joseph,
So meek and so mild,
"Joseph, gather me . . . [text upcoming]