Cherry Tree Carol- Newhook (NL) pre1938 Pinhorn
[From: The Norman Cove Carols--http://www.jamespinhorn.com/James_Webspace/Traditional_Carols.html. Notes from the website follow. Cox collected a similar version in 1975 from Mrs. C. Cooper of Dildo, NL. This is from "Ern" Newhook, traditional in his family for many years (1777) in Newfoundland.
R. Matteson 2014]
James Pinorn: Here are the five Christmas Carols my grandfather used to sing with the men in Norman's Cove, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland many years ago. To get the notes as accurate as possible, I consulted my Uncle Cle Newhook on the words in certain verses, as well as my Mom, Florence Pinhorn who heard the carols sung in her kitchen many times by her father. I also made use of two separate recordings of my Grandfather, Ernest Newhook singing these carols, and information from my Great Uncle Hubert Newhook about the history of the carols.
http://www.jamespinhorn.com/James_Webspace/Traditional_Carols_files/NCarol2.mp3
http://www.jamespinhorn.com/James_Webspace/Traditional_Carols_files/PopandCle.mp3
History of Our Old Time English Carols
by Hubert James Newhook; Christmas 2008
In the year 1777, our progenitor, Charles Newhook, at the age of 25, moved with his wife Elizabeth, from their birthplace and residence in Tarrant, Gunville, Dorcet, England, to Trinity, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland.
Between that date and 1799, eight children (6 boys and 2 girls) were born to the couple: Charles 1778, George 1780, William 1782, Mary 1786, James 1788, John 1792, Sarah 1796 and Samuel 1799.
Charles senior was a master shipbuilder and, as such, procured employment with the firm of J. J. Lester Ltd. in Trinity, Trinity Bay.
As the sons advanced in age, they learned and followed their father’s trade and, to gain access to a fresher and a more abundant supply of timber to harvest for their shipbuilding, they gradually migrated south in Trinity Bay and took up residence in the tiny settlements of New Harbour and Dildo.
Some years later, in the early 1800’s, one of the brothers, James (my great, great, great, grandfather) moved his family to the west side of Trinity Bay, built a house and settled down in a little place called Norman’s Cove. The main reason for the move was that there grew there an abundance of large trees suitable for the strong timers required for his boatbuilding trade (according to stories handed down by my father, Hubert (great, greatgrandson of James). The old time carols, without a doubt, were brought by Charles and Elizabeth from Dorset England, where they had followed the practice of singing them every year, and this practice continued in Trinity, Newfoundland, and was carried on by the brothers down through the succeeding years.
Having listened to and joined in the singing of those carols in his earlier years, my father and his siblings continued the practice all through my childhood and adolescence years. My brother, Ernest, joined the group when he became of age.
I carried with me fond memories of a group of men singing these carols each Christmas Eve, without any musical accompanyment. The lead singer was usually our school teacher, my uncle Cleophas (Cle), whom the others (all men) followed in their strong and powerful voices.
Cherry Tree Carol- Ern Newhook, c. 1938, Norman Cove, NL
1. Joseph was an old man, most righteous was he,
Was engaged to sweet Mary, his wife for to be.
2. Said Mary to Joseph, with a voice meek and mild,
"Go gather me cherries Joseph for I am with child.
3. Then replied Joseph, with a voice so unkind,
"Let him gather you cherries Mary that got you with child.
4. Then up speaks the baby, from his mother's own womb,
"Bow you down you lofty cherry tree bow you down to me.
5. The cherry tree being so lofty, it bent to her knee,
Where Mary picked cherries by one, two and three.
6. The cherry tree being so lofty, it bent down so low,
That Mary picked cherries from the uppermost bow.
7. The cherry tree being so lofty, it bent to the ground,
And Mary picked cherries the first in the town.
8. "Come tell me my baby, come tell unto me
Come tell me my sweet babe when thy birth is to be."
9. "It is Christmas in the morning, my birth is to be,
Stones in the street mother will shed blood for me."
10. "I will not be born in, no kitchen or hall
But in some part of Bethlehem in some oxen stall."