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Cherry Tree Carol/Joseph and Mary
Traditional Christmas carol
ARTIST: Multiple versions
SHEET MUSIC:
DATE: 1768 (Gilbert MS)
CATEGORY: Traditional and Public Domain Gospel
RECORDING INFO: The Cherry Tree Carol [Ch 54/Sh 15]
Rt - As Joseph Was a Walking
Pound, Louise (ed.) / American Ballads and Songs, Scribner, Sof (1972/1922), p 47/# 19 [1915ca]
Seeger, Ruth Crawford (eds.) / American Folk Songs for Children, Doubleday/Zephyr Books, Sof (1948), p182
Snyder, Jerry (arr.) / Golden Guitar Folk Sing Book, Hansen, Fol (1972), p 36
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963), p 59 [1830/1915ca]
Lynn, Frank (ed.) / Songs for Swinging Housemothers, Fearon, Sof (1963/1961), p234
Best, Dick & Beth (eds.) / New Song Fest Deluxe, Hansen, Sof (1971/1948), p 53
Visconti, Carl (ed.) / Paint Creek Folklore Society Song Tune Book, Paint Creek, Sof (1986), p40
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Hootenanny Tonight!, Gold Medal Books, sof (1964), p 32
Wells, Evelyn Kendrick (ed.) / The Ballad Tree, Ronald, Bk (1950), p187
Blood, Peter; and Annie Patterson (eds.) / Rise Up Singing, Sing Out, Sof (1992/1989), p 9
Sandburg, Helga (ed.) / Sweet Music, Dial, Bk (1963), p128 [1952ca]
Lloyd, A. L. / Folk Song in England, International, sof (1967), p120
Leisy, James F. (ed.) / Folk Song Abecedary, Bonanza, Bk (1966), p 57
Herder, Ronald (ed.) / 500 Best-Loved Song Lyrics, Dover dn500/500, Sof (1998), p 59
Baez, Joan. Joan Baez, Volume 2, Vanguard VSD 2097, LP (1961), trk# 11
Baez, Joan. Siegmeister, Elie (arr.) / Joan Baez Song Book, Ryerson Music, Sof (1971/1964), p 62
Beers Family. Christmas with the Beers Family, Columbia ML 6335, LP (1966), trk# 7
Beltaine. Brilliant Fire, Beltaine 01, CD (2003), trk# 20
Brixey, Mrs. Clyde. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey O.(ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwes, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p 45/# 16B [1940s] (Joseph Was an Old Man)
Brown, Susan. Songs and Ballads of Hattie Mae Tyler Cargill, Folk Legacy CD 128, CD (2001), trk# 2 (Carol of the Cherry Tree)
Brown, Wilfred. Folk Songs, L'Oiseau-Lyre SOL 60034, LP (1961), trk# A.08 (Cherry Tree)
Carlin, Richard. Carlin, Richard / English Concertina, Oak, Sof (1977), p16
Collins, Shirley. Classic Collection, Highpoint, CD (2004), trk# 16 [1995?]
Corrie Folk Trio with Paddie Bell. Promise of the Day, Elektra EKL 304, LP (1966), trk# A.07
Creech, John Buckingham ('Old Buck'). Thomas, Jean / Ballad Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky, Oak, Sof (1964/1939), p230
Day, James William (Jilson Setters). Thomas, Jean / Ballad Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky, Oak, Sof (1964/1939), p224
Dunagan, Margaret. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 93/# 15D [1917/09/12]
Dyer-Bennet, Richard. Richard Dyer-Bennet 9, Dyer-Bennet 9000, LP (1960), trk# 12
Fahey, John. Popular Songs of Christmas and New Years, Varrick VR-012, Cas (197?), trk# 6b
Gainer, Patrick. Folk Songs of the Alleghenies, Folk Heritage, LP (1963), trk# B.01
Gentry, Jane. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 91/# 15B [1916/08/24]
Gooding, Cynthia. O Love Is Teasin', Elektra BLP 12051, LP (1985), trk# 1.03
Gooding, Cynthia. Faithful Lovers and Other Phenomena, Elektra EKL 107, LP (1956), trk# B.06
Griffin, Mrs. G. A.. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Bk (1950), p262/#155 [1934-39] (Sweet Mary and Sweet Joseph)
Hill, Lizzie J.. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey O.(ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwes, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p 44/# 16A [1940s] (Joseph and Mary)
Isom, Bill (Kitchen). Thomas, Jean / Ballad Makin' in the Mountains of Kentucky, Oak, Sof (1964/1939), p227
Jones, Clark. Early American Folk Music & Songs, Folkways FTS 31091, LP (1982), trk# 13
Langstaff, John. Christmas Revels. Wassail! Wassail!, Revels RC 1082, LP (1982), trk# A.07
Marks, Phyllis. Folksongs and Ballads, Vol 2. Phyllis Marks, Augusta Heritage AHR 008, Cas (1991), trk# 2.02
McSpadden, Lynn. McSpadden, Lynn / Four and Twenty Songs for the Mountain Dulcimer, Dulcimer Shoppe, sof (1970), p19
Mitchell Trio. Typical American Boys, Mercury MG 20992, LP (196?), trk# A.03
Ransom, Stan; with Marne O'Shae. North Country Christmas, Connecticut Peddler NCC 101, CD (1994), trk# 10
Rice, Mrs. Tom. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 90/# 15A [1916/08/17]
Riley, William. Fowke, Edith and Richard Johnston / Folk Songs of Canada, Waterloo Music, Bk (1954), p128
Ritchie, Jean. Kentucky Christmas, Old and New, Greenhays GR 717, LP (1987), trk# 10 (Carol of the Cherry Tree)
Ritchie, Jean. British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains (Vol. 2), Folkways FA 2302, LP (1961), trk# B.01
Ritchie, Jean. Carols of All Seasons, Tradition TLP 1031, CD (1959), trk# 7 (Cherry Tree of Cumberlands)
Roberts, John; and Tony Barrand. Nowell Sing We Clear, Front Hall FHR-013, LP (1977), trk# A.07
Seeger Family. American Folk Songs for Christmas, Rounder 0268/0269, LP (1989), trk# 13 (Joseph and Mary)
Seeger, Peggy and Mike. American Folk Songs for Children, Rounder 8001/8002/8003, CD (1977), trk# 2-50
Sizemore, Becky (Aunt Becky). Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p127/N 23 [1934]
Sloan, Alice; and Sudie Sloan. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 94/# 15E [1917/05/08]
Townsley, Mrs.. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 94/# 15F [1917/05/04]
Waterson - Carthy. Holy Heathens and the Green Old Man, Topic TSCD 562, CD (2006), trk# 7
Wilbur, Marie. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume I, British Ballads and Songs, Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p 88/# 12 [1930/05/14]
Wooten, William (Cullen). Sharp, Cecil & Maude Karpeles (eds.) / Eighty English Folk Songs from th, MIT Press, Sof (1968), p 32 [1917ca]
Wooten, William (Cullen). Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p 92/# 15C [1917/09/21]
OTHER NAMES: "Joseph and Mary"
RELATED TO: "As Joseph Was a Walking"
SOURCES: Ballad Index; Folk Index; Mudcat
NOTES: "Cherry Tree Carol" is a traditional Christmas carol (Child No. 54) that was collected in Kentucky by Sharp (also in Sharp and Karpeles 1932) in 1917 from William Wooten. Below is info from several sources with lyrics:
Ballad Index Cherry-Tree Carol, The [Child 54]
DESCRIPTION: Joseph and Mary are walking. Mary asks Joseph for some of the cherries they are passing by, since she is pregnant. Joseph tells her to let the baby's father get them. The unborn Jesus orders the tree to give Mary cherries. Joseph repents
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1768 (Gilbert MS)
KEYWORDS: carol Jesus religious
FOUND IN: US(Ap,NE,SE,So) Britain(England,(Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar,Ont,West)
REFERENCES (29 citations):
Child 54, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (4 texts)
Bronson 54, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (30 versions + 2 in an appendix, one of them being "Mary With Her Young Son"' in addition, #27 contains "The Holly Bears a Berry" and #29 a scrap of "The Holly and the Ivy")
Greig #160, p. 1, "The Cherry-Tree Carol" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 327, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (2 texts plus 6 verses on p. 579)
BarryEckstormSmyth p. 446, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (notes only)
Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 70-73, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
Randolph 12, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #30}
BrownII 15, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (2 texts)
Davis-Ballads 13, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text plus 2 fragments; the only substantial text, "A," begins with two verses clearly imported from something else; 1 tune) {Bronson's #14}
Ritchie-Southern, pp. 36-37, "Carol of the Cherry Tree" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 60, (no title) (1 single-stanza excerpt)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 34-35, "Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text plus 1 fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #22, #11}
Thomas-Makin', pp. 222-231, "(The Cherry Tree Carol)" (2 texts plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 175-177, "The Cherry-Tree Carol" (2 texts)
Friedman, p. 59, "The Cherry-Tree Carol" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBB 101, "The Cherry-Tree Carol" (1 text)
OBC 66, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text (separated into smaller parts, the last being "Mary With Her Young Son"), 4 tunes) {for the "First Tune" cf. Bronson's #1; the "Second Tune" is Bronson's #32}
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 128-129, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #22}
PBB 2, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #42, "Joseph Was an Old Man" (1 text)
Niles 23, "The Cherry Tree" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 15 "The Cherry-Tree Carol" (5 texts plus a fragment, 6 tunes) {Bronson's #28, #17, #16, #19, #15, #21}
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 12, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #16; cf. #20}
Hodgart, p. 151, "The Cherry-Tree Carol" (1 text)
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 758, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 19, p. 47, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 40-42, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 380, "Cherry Tree Carol" (1 text)
DT 54, CHERTREE*
Roud #453
RECORDINGS:
Maud Long, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (AFS; on LC14)
Jean Ritchie, "Cherry Tree Carol" (on JRitchie02)
Mrs. Lee Skeens, "The Cherry Tree Carol" (AFS; on LC57)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mary With Her Young Son"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Cherry Tree
Joseph and Mary
The Sixth of January
Notes: Widely considered to be based on the Infancy Gospel of the Pseudo-Matthew (Latin, ninth century). In that book, however, the miracle took place AFTER Jesus's birth. Joseph, Jesus, and Mary were fleeing from King Herod when Mary became faint. Joseph led her under a date palm to rest. Mary begged Joseph to get her some of the dates. Joseph was astonished; the tree was too tall to climb. But Jesus (who was no more than two years old) commanded the palm, "Bow down, tree, and refresh my mother with your fruit." And bow down it did, and remained so until Jesus ordered it to straighten up (and be carried into heaven)!
The only part of this with scriptural basis is Joseph's jealousy (Matt. 1:18-20) and the angel's announcement that Joseph should care for the child (Matt. 1:20-25 -- where, however, the message comes in a dream).
It is perhaps interesting that, in the carol, it is the *cherry* tree that bows down. Various legends swirl about the cherry, including one from China that associates it with female sexuality (the English parallel is presumably obvious). There is also a Swiss legend that offers cherries to new mothers.
Incidentally, the link to the pseudo-Matthew is not universally accepted; Baring-Gould linked the thing to a tale in the Kalevala (canto L), the story of Marjatta, in which the virgin Marjatta eats a cranberry (?), brings forth a boy, loses him, finds him, brings him to be baptised, is condemned by Vanamoinen, but he defends himself and is baptised as a king. (Complications ensure, of course.)
The parallels are obviously interesting -- but it must be recalled that the Kalevala is actually more recent than the Cherry-Tree Carol. More likely both come from common roots.
An even more interesting parallel is in the Quran. In Surah 3:46 ("The Imrans"), Jesus "will preach to men in his cradle"; the statement is repeated in 5:110 ("The Table"). More amazing, though, is 19:22f. ("Mary" or, in more literal translations, "Mariam"): Mary, as she goes into labor, wishes she had died. The child speaks up and commands the date-palm to feed her. Later, as the unmarried Mary comes among her people, she is accused of whoredom. She points to the infant Jesus, who justifies her from the cradle.
The legend that Joseph was old when he married Mary has no direct scriptural basis. The logic is indirect: Mary was still alive at the time of Jesus's ministry, death, and resurrection. Joseph, however, is not mentioned in this context; the only mentions of him as a living man are in the infancy portions of Matthew and Luke. Thus the assumption was that he was dead, and hence implicitly that he was much older than Mary. This also allowed the Church to solve another problem: The mention of brothers of Jesus (James and others) when it was maintained (again on no scriptural basis) that Mary was a perpetual virgin: The argument was that Mary was Joseph's second wife, and Jesus's brothers were in fact half brothers: Joseph's children by the previous wife. (Making them, genetically if not legally, no brothers of Jesus at all.)
This cannot be disproved, of course. But two points need to be made. First, we have only two date pegs for the life of Jesus: First, he was born in the reign of Herod the Great (so both Matthew and Luke), and second, he was active in ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius the Caesar (Luke 3:1).
Herod the Great is known to have died in 4 B.C.E., meaning that Jesus must have been born by that year. There are inferential reasons to think he was born in 6 or 7 C.E.
Tiberius suceeded the emperor Augustus in 14 C. E. Thus his fifteenth year was probably 29 C. E. Jesus was very likely crucified in 30 C.E. This means that he was probably at least 36 years old.
So if Joseph had been a young man of 22 when he married Mary, he would have had to live to at least age 58 to be around when Jesus died. Lots of people in Roman Palestine died before age 58! The fact that Joseph was almost certainly dead in 30 C.E. is no evidence at all for the claim that he was old in 6 B.C.E. It' possible, but not all that likely.
The other evidence, about Jesus's brothers, is also weak. James is the one member of Jesus's family to be mentioned outsie the Bible: Josephus, Antiquities XX.200 in the Loeb edition (XX.ix.1 in older editions) say that he was stoned to death soon after the Judean procurator Festus died. Festus, we know from Josephus, died in 62. James, under the "son of Joseph's first wife" theory, would have had to be at least seventy at this time. Certainly possible, but it's a lot easier to assume James was born after Jesus, and hence only in his sixties. I stress that there is no proof, but the strong weight of evidence is that Joseph was *not* old when Jesus was born. - RBW
Bob Waltz: Inside Bluegrass, December 1995
For some reason that I've never been able to fathom, Christianity and the Christmas story have never had a strong place in traditional music. Francis James Child, in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, listed 305 traditional English-language ballads; by my count, exactly seven of these have religious themes.Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs (arguably the best collection of American folk tunes) lists 68 religious pieces, but apart from a few spirituals, all are by church or popular composers.
There is one major exception: The Cherry Tree Carol. This piece, Child #54, was collected in Britain in the seventeenth century (and is probably older), and has been found throughout the Appalachians, as well as in the Ozarks and on into Canada. Jean Ritchie recorded an Appalachian version on "Kentucky Christmas."
The story may have originated in the "Infancy Gospel of the Pseudo-Matthew," an apocryphal Latin work of the ninth century. In it, the miracle took place after Jesus's birth. Joseph, Jesus, and Mary were fleeing from King Herod when Mary became faint from the heat. Joseph led her under a date palm tree to rest. Mary begged Joseph to get her some of the dates. Joseph was astonished; the tree was too tall to climb. But Jesus (who was no more than two years old) commanded the palm, "Bow down, tree, and refresh my mother with your fruit." And bow down it did, and remained until Jesus ordered it to straighten up (and be carried up into heaven!)
The earliest English versions seem to have included three parts: the story of Joseph's jealousy (found in the Bible in Matthew 1:18 & :25) and the cherry tree; the angel's message to Joseph on Christmas Eve, and a conversation between Mary and the baby Jesus (who may not even have been born yet). In it he predicts his crucifixion and, as here, his birth on January 6, the "old-style Christmas" which many people in the Appalachians celebrated until early in this century.
The tune here is from Kentucky; the text is composite.
Note to pickers: you will observe that I put all the high B notes on the G string rather than the B string. There are two reasons for this: it sounds better with a hammered-in B, and this way you can play the piece in DADGAD tuning and use a bunch of modal chords.
Cherry Tree Carol- Kentucky version from Bob Waltz
When Joseph was an old man,
An old man was he,
When he courted Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee,
When he courted Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee,
As Joseph and Mary
Were walking one day,
"Here are apples and cherries,"
O Mary did say....
Then Mary spoke to Joseph,
So meek and so mild,
"Joseph, gather me some cherries
For I am with child...."
Then Joseph flew in anger --
In anger flew he,
"Let the father of the baby
Gather cherries for thee!"
Then Jesus spoke a few words,
A few words spoke he,
"Let my mother have some cherries;
Bow low down, cherry tree!
"Bow down, O cherry tree!
Bow low down to the ground!"
Then Mary gathered cherries
While Joseph stood around....
Then Joseph took Mary
All on his left knee;
Saying: "What have I done? Lord,
Have mercy on me!"
Then Joseph took Mary
All on his right knee,
"Pray tell me, little baby,
When your birthday shall be....
"On the sixth day of January
My birthday shall be,
When the stars and the elements
Shall tremble with glee....
***
As Joseph was a-walking,
He heard an angel sing,
"Tonight shall be the birth-time
Of Christ, our heavenly king...."
"He neither shall be born
In house nor in hall,
Nor in the place of paradise,
But in an ox's stall....
"He neither shall be clothéd
In purple nor in pall
But in the bare white linen
That useth babies all....
As Joseph was a-walking,
Then did an angel sing,
And Mary's child at midnight
Was born to be our king....
THE CHERRY TREE CAROL- Bronson, Group Ad, 16.
When Joseph was a young man,
A young man was he,
He courted Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee,
He courted Virgin Mary,
The Queen of Galilee.
As Joseph and Mary
Were walking one day,
Here is apples and cherries
Enough to behold.
Then Mary spoke to Joseph
So neat (meek?) and so mild:
Joseph, gather me some cherries,
For I am with child.
Then Joseph flew in angry,
In angry he flew:
Let the father of the baby
Gather cherries for you.
Lord Jesus spoke a few words
All down unto them:
Bow low down, low down, cherry tree,
Let the mother have some.
The cherry tree bowed low down
Low down to the ground,
And Mary gathered cherries
While Joseph stood around.
Then Joseph took Mary
All on his right knee.
He cried: O Lord, have mercy
For what have I done.
An Joseph took Mary
All on his left knee.
Pray tell me, little baby,
When your birthday will be?
On the fifth day of January
My birthday will be,
When the stars and the elements
Doth tremble with fear.
THE CHERRY TREE CAROL- from the Oxford Book of Ballads, 1910.
Joseph was an old man,
And an old man was he,
When he wedded Mary
In the land of Galilee.
Joseph and Mary walk'd
Through an orchard good,
Where was cherries and berries
So red as any blood.
Joseph and Mary walk'd
Through an orchard green,
Where was berries and cherries
As thick as might be seen.
O then bespoke Mary,
So meek and so mild,
'Pluck me one cherry, Joseph,
For I am with child.'
O then bespoke the babe
Within his mother's womb,
'Bow down then the tallest tree
For my mother to have some.'
Then bow'd down the highest tree
Unto his mother's hand:
Then she cried, 'See, Joseph,
I have cherries at command.'
O then bespake Joseph-
'I have done Mary wrong;
But cheer up, my dearest,
And be not cast down.
'O eat your cherries, Mary,
O eat your cherries now;
O eat your cherries, Mary,
That grow upon the bough.'
Then Mary pluck'd a cherry
As red as the blood;
Then Mary went home
With her heavy load.
As Joseph was a-walking,
He heard an angel sing:
'This night shall be born
Our heavenly King.
'He neither shall be born
In housen nor in hall,
Nor in the place of Paradise,
But in an ox's stall.
'He neither shall be clothéd
In purple nor in pall,
But all in fair linen,
As were babies all.
'He neither shall be rock'd
In silver nor in gold,
But in a wooden cradle
That rocks on the mould.
He neither shall be christen'd
In white wine nor red,
But with fair spring water
With which we were christenéd.
Then Mary took her young son
And set him on her knee;
'I pray thee now, dear child,
Tell how this world shall be.'-
'O I shall be as dead, mother,
As the stones in the wall;
O the stones in the street, mother,
Shall mourn for me all.
'And upon a Wednesday
My vow I will make,
And upon Good Friday
My death I will take.
'Upon Easter-day, mother,
My uprising shall be;
O the sun and the moon, mother,
Shall both rise with me!'
(pall- fine cloth; place- palace)
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