Recordings & Info 56. Dives and Lazarus
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Folk Index
4) Child Collection Index
5) Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
6) Mainly Norfolk (lyrics and info)
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud Number 477 (63 listings)
Alternative Titles
Lazarus
Dives and Laz'us
As It Fell Out Upon a Day
The Rich Man and Lazarus
The Rich Man Dives
Traditional Ballad Index: Dives and Lazarus [Child 56]
DESCRIPTION: Poor Lazarus comes to the rich man's door. The rich man (Dives/Diveres/Diverus) refuses to offer charity. Lazarus dies and is rewarded after death; the rich man suffers eternal punishment
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1871 (Bramley & Stainer)
KEYWORDS: religious poverty punishment Hell
FOUND IN: Britain (England (Lond,West)) US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (13 citations):
Child 56, "Dives and Lazarus" (2 texts)
Bronson 56, "Dives and Lazarus" (13 versions, but #10-#12, given in an appendix, are "Lazarus (I)," and #9, a tune with no text, might also be something else)
Broadwood/Maitland, pp. 102-103, "Lazarus" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leather, pp. 190-191, "Dives and Lazarus" (1 text plus some excerpts, 2 tunes)
Leach, pp. 177-179, "Dives and Lazarus" (1 text)
Flanders-Ancient2, pp. 74-75, "Dives and Lazarus" (a few scrapts of text, which Flanders places with Child #56 though none of the lines is characteristic of that song and one -- "even the whelps can eat crumbs" -- is not even part of the tale of Lazarus)
OBC 57, "Dives and Lazarus" (1 text, 2 tunes) {First Tune=Bronson's #3; Second Tune=Bronson's #1]
OBB 109, Dives and Lazarus"" (1 text)
Niles 24, "Dives and Lazarus" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 153, "Dives and Lazarus" (1 text)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 583-584, "Dives and Laz'us" (1 text)
DT 56, DIVRLAZ*
ADDITIONAL: William Henry Husk, editor, Songs of the Nativity (London, 1884? ("Digitized by Microsoft")), pp. 95-97, ("As It Fell Out Upon a Day") (1 text)
Roud #477
RECORDINGS:
Aunt Molly Jackson, "Lazarus" (AFS; on LC57)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lazarus and the Rich Man" (subject)
cf. "Lazarus (I)" (subject)
cf. "Poor Old Lazarus (I've Got a Home; Don't You See)" (subject)
cf. "The Rich Man and Lazarus" (subject)
cf. "The Rich Man and the Poor Man" (theme)
cf. "The Star of the County Down" (tune) and references there
NOTES: Jesus's story of the rich man and Lazarus -- which, be it noted, was a warning, not a description of an actual event -- is found in Luke 16:19-31 (the Lazarus of John 11, 12 is unrelated). The name "Dives/Divers" from the Latin dives, rich/rich man.
The Lomaxes seem to regard their text, "Dives and Laz'us," as a "Dives and Lazarus" variant. This seems rather a stretch -- the song is about Lazarus, but the form does not much resemble the Child ballad. But I have seen nothing similar elsewhere. Given the undeniable possibility of Lomax editorial work, I give in and list the song here.
In the folk revival, this song is most commonly sung to the tune of "The Star of the County Down." Most of the tunes in Bronson, however, are not of this type; indeed, the majority are in two, not three. - RBW
Broadwood/Maitland speculates that the tune given might belong with the text. - BS
Folk Index: Dives and Lazarus [Ch 56]
Rm - When a Man's in Love (He Feels No Cold) ; Star of the County Down
Lomax, J. A. & A. Lomax / American Ballads and Folk Songs, MacMillan, Bk (1934), p583
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), P177 [1700s]
Higgins, Lottie. Niles, John Jacob / Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, Bramhall House, Bk (1961), p129/N 24 [1934/06]
Divers and Lazarus
Roberts, John; and Tony Barrand. Nowell Sing We Clear, Front Hall FHR 013, LP (1977), trk# B.03
Child Collection Index- Child Ballad 056: Dives and Lazarus
Child No. --Artist ---Title ---Album ---Year ---Length ---Have Rec
056 A.L. Lloyd Dives and Lazarus The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 8 [Reissue] 196? 3:54 Yes
056 A.L. Lloyd Dives and Lazarus The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 4 1956 No
056 A.L. Lloyd Dives and Lazarus Bramble Briars & Beams of the Sun 2011 No
056 Andrew King Dives and Lazarus Changes + Andrew King 2005 7:26 Yes
056 Andrew King Dives and Lazarus John Barleycorn Reborn - Dark Britannica 2007 6:29 Yes
056 Aunt Molly Jackson Lazarus Child Ballads Traditional in the United States, Vol. I 1960 4:25 Yes
056 David Willcocks & The Jacques Orchestra Five Variants of 'Dives and Lazarus' Vaughan Williams - The Collector's Edition 2008 11:23 Yes
056 Eliza Carthy Dives and Lazarus Cold Blow These Winter Winds - A Celtic Celebration of Christmas 2004 5:31 Yes
056 Emily Bishop Divers and Lazarus Country Songs & Carols 1975 No
056 Emily Bishop Divers and Lazarus The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 9: Songs of Ceremony 1961 2:14 Yes
056 Emily Bishop Dives and Lazarus BBC Recordings No
056 Emily Bishop Lazarus English Customs and Traditions 1997 2:12 Yes
056 Iron Mountain String Band Lazarus Songs of Old Time America 1989 No
056 James Findlay Dives and Lazarus Sport and Play 2011 No
056 Jim Moray Dives and Lazarus Live at Cecil Sharp House, London 2009 6:00 Yes
056 June Tabor & The Oyster Band Dives and Lazarus Freedom and Rain 1990 4:19 Yes
056 June Tabor & The Oyster Band Dives and Lazarus Live at First Avenue [Minneapolis 1991] 1991 5:26 Yes
056 Lance Frodsham & Friends Dives and Lazarus A Branch of May - English Songs & Ballads 2001 3:28 Yes
056 Lance Frodsham & Friends Dives and Lazarus Oasis Acoustic, Vol. 28 2001 3:28 Yes
056 Maddy Prior Dives and Lazarus Seven for Old England 2008 4:15 Yes
056 Martin Simpson Dives and Lazarus The Bramble Briar 2001 5:36 Yes
056 Martin Simpson Dives and Lazarus The Definitive Collection 2004 5:33 Yes
056 Martin Simpson & Wu Man Dives and Lazarus Music for the Motherless Child 1996 19:31 Yes
056 Michael Raven & Joan Mills Dives and Lazarus Songs and Dances of Herefordshire 1996 No
056 Nic Jones Dives and Lazarus Unearthed 2001 5:50 Yes
056 Nic Jones Dives and Lazarus Game Set Match 2006 5:50 Yes
056 Nowell Sing We Clear Dives and Lazarus Nowell Sing We Clear - A Pageant of Mid-Winter Carols 1977 No
056 Nowell Sing We Clear Divers and Lazarus A Pageant of Midwinter Carols - Live on NPR 1977 1977 2:54 Yes
056 Opus Anglicanum Dives and Lazarus The Seeds of Love 1997 No
056 Phil Cooper, Margaret Nelson & Kate Early Dives and Lazarus Love & War 2005 4:14 Yes
056 Philip G Martin Dives and Lazarus Another Canterbury Tale - Across the Centuries by Hurdy-Gurdy 1997 No
056 Polly Bolton, Steve Dunachie & John Shepherd Dives and Lazarus Songs from a Cold Open Field 2001 3:33 Yes
056 Puzzlejug Divers and Lazarus Let Us Be Merry 1996 No
056 Raymond Crooke Dives and Lazarus <website> 2007 4:01 Yes
056 Red Henry Dives and Lazarus Helton Creek 2007 No
056 Rick Lee Dives and Lazarus There's Talk About a Fence 1999 3:22 Yes
056 Steeleye Span Diversus and Lazarus They Called Her Babylon 2004 9:42 Yes
056 Swan Arcade Dives & Lazarus Round Again [Together Forever + Diving for Pearls] 2001 4:01 Yes
056 The Mellstock Band Dives and Lazarus Glad Tidings - a West Gallery Christmas 2004 No
056 The Philharmonia Orchestra of London Variants (5) of 'Dives and Lazarus' for String Orchestra & Harp (Or Harps) Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sinfonica Antartica + 5 Variants of "Dives and Lazarus" 1993 13:26 Yes
056 The Young Tradition Dives and Lazarus The Young Tradition + So Cheerfully Round 1997 5:36 Yes
056 Vilma Pääkkö Dives and Lazarus <website> 2006 4:37 Yes
056 Vilma Pääkkö Dives and Lazarus <website> 2007 5:01 Yes
056 William Boughton & the English String Orchestra (5) Variants of Dives and Lazarus A Portrait of Vaughan Willams 1999 No
056 William Boughton & The English String Orchestra Variants (5) of Dives and Lazarus Vaughan Williams - Orchestral Favourites Vol III 1994 No
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
56. DIVES AND LAZARUS
Texts: Davis, Trd Sid Fa, 175 / Jackson, Dozen East Spirituals, 27 / SharpC, EngF-S So Aplchns, 253 / SharpK, Eng F-S So Aplcbns, II, 29 / SFLQ, II, 68 / Va FLS Bull,#iz.
Local Titles: Lazarus, Lazarus and Dives, The Rich Man and Lazarus, The Rich Man Dives.
Story Types: A: Lazarus begs the crumbs from rich Dives' table. The latter scorns him, although the dogs take pity on him and lick his sores. After death, when Dives has gone to Hell and Lazarus to Heaven, the situation is reversed, and Dives begs Abraham to send Lazarus to him with water. Abraham reminds the sinner of his actions while on earth and of the great
gulf between Heaven and Hell. In the complete Virginia text, Dives then repents and requests that Lazarus be sent to warn Dives' brethren who are headed for ruin too.
Examples: Davis.
Discussion: The American texts of this ballad are quite corrupt and, to quote Davis, 3W Sid Va, 175, differ entirely "except in the bald outline of the Biblical story, from the Child versions". Both this text and the SFLQ song are extremely compressed and the Kirklands call their version a derivative. In the Sha-rp collections Lazarus is not even included among the ballads.
Typical of the changes the story has undergone in its sea-voyage is the incident in wild the dogs figure. In Child Dives sends men with whips and the dogs out to nLangle Lazarus, but they find they have no power to hurt him. In America the dogs are restrained by pity alone. In addition the language of the Virginia version is not ballad language and there is almost no rime.
For a discussion of a possible Gaelic introduction of this song into America, see George P. Jaclson, Down East Spirituals, 27. His text is reprinted from Davis, loc. cit.
Mainly Norfolk: Dives and Lazarus
[Roud 477; Child 56; Ballad Index C056; trad.]
Dives and Lazarus is a story told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 16:19-31). It tells of an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. In the Latin Bible, the unnamed rich man is referred to as Dives from dives, the Latin word for rich.
The ballad's variant Child 56A was taken from Joshua Sylvester's A Garland of Christmas Carols, ancient and modern, including some never before given in any collections, London, 1861. Sylvester cited “an old Birmingham broadside” as his source. Under 56A Child also cites a text in William Henry Husk's Songs of the Nativity (London, 1870s), derived “from a Worcestershire broadside of the last century”, and specifies the relatively minor particulars in which it differs from the main text. There are a number of broadside texts at Bodleian Library Broadsides, including four printed in Birmingham.
Dives and Lazarus is sung to a tune that is also used for other songs like Norfolk's Murder of Maria Marten, Scottish Gilderoy, and the Irish air Star of the County Down.
Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote an arrangement called Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus for harp and string orchestra.
Royston Wood sang Dives and Lazarus on the Young Tradition's eponymous first album, The Young Tradition. The album's liner notes commented:
Collected by both Sharp and Vaughan Williams, this is a simple but eloquent version of the story of rich old Dives who slighted the beggar Lazarus and got his desserts for doing so. The sung must have appealed to the countryfolk, who would have appreciated the idea of Lazarus, downtrodden on Earth, finding a place in Heaven, where he sits on an angel's knee. Since Royston started singing this song, it has undergone some subtle changes musically. The tune is related to the Irish air of Star of the County Down.
Swan Arcade learned Dives and Lazarus from the singing of Royston Wood and recorded it with their own tune for their 1983 LP, Together Forever. They commented in the album notes:
The words came from Royston Wood when he sang with us. Heather [Brady] put them to this tune. The Story has a great sense of fair play which is not much on evidence in today's world.
June Tabor sang Dives and Lazarus in 1990 on her and the Oysterband's album Freedom and Rain.
Martin Simpson recorded Dives and Lazarus for his 2001 album The Bramble Briar.
Eliza Carthy sang Dives and Lazarus unaccompainied live at The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland on December 21, 2003. The whole concert (with Rory McLeod, Mary Macmaster and lots of others) was published on the Green Linnet CD Cold Blow These Winter Winds.
Rick Kemp re-worked Diversus and Lazarus somewhat for Steeleye Span's 2004 CD They Called Her Babylon. He reasoned in the album's sleeve notes:
A perennial tale of haves and have nots, the dire consequences of greed and selfishness, the rewards of humility and frugality. This is assembled from several versions, and then wildly cut to make space for the riffs, but I think that the essence of the story remains.
The Young Tradition's: Dives and Lazarus
As it fell out upon one day,
Rich Divers he gave a feast;
And invited all his neighbours in,
And gentry of the best.
And it fell out upon that day,
Poor Lazarus he was so poor,
He came and laid him down and down,
Even down by Diverus' door.
Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
Even down by Diverus' door,
“Some meat, some drink, brother Diverus,
Do bestow upon the poor.”
“Thou are none of mine, brother Lazarus,
Lying begging at my door,
No meat, no drink, will I give thee,
Nor bestow upon the poor.”
Then Lazarus he laid him down and down,
Even down by Diverus' wall,
“Some meat, some drink, brother Diverus,
Or surely starve I shall.”
“Thou are none of mine, brother Lazarus,
Lying begging at my wall,
No meat, no drink, will I give thee,
And surely starve you shall.”
Then Lazarus he laid him down and down,
Even down by Diverus' gate,
“Some meat, some drink, brother Diverus,
For Jesus Christ His sake.”
“Thou are none of mine, brother Lazarus,
Lying begging at my gate,
No meat, no drink, will I give thee,
For Jesus Christ His sake.”
Then Diverus sent his merry men all
For to whip poor Lazarus away.
They had no will to whip one whip
But threw their whips away.
Then Diverus sent his hungry dogs
For to bite poor Lazarus away;
They had not will to bite one bite
But licked his wounds away.
Then it fell out upon one day,
Poor Lazarus he sickened and died.
There came two angels out of Heaven,
His soul thereto to guide.
“Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus
And come you along with me.
There is a place prepared in Heaven,
For to sit upon an angel's knee.”
Then it fell out upon one day,
Rich Diverus he sickened and died.
There came two serpents out of hell,
His soul thereto to guide.
“Rise up, rise up, brother Diverus
And come you along with me.
There is a place prepared in hell
For to sit upon a serpent's knee.”
Steeleye Span's Diversus and Lazarus
As it fell out upon a day
Rich Diversus made a feast.
And he invited all his friends
And the gentry of the best.
Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
Laid him down at Diversus door.
“Some meat, some drink, my brother Diversus
Will you bestow upon the poor.”
“Thou art none of my brothers, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my door.
No meat nor drink will I give to thee, Lazarus,
Nor bestow upon the poor.”
Diversus sent his men
To whip poor Lazarus away.
But they had no power to strike a stroke
But flung their whips away.
Diversus sent his hungry dogs
To bite him as he lay.
But they had no power to bite
But licked his sores away.
It fell out upon a day
Poor Lazarus grew sick and died.
There came two angels out of heaven above,
His souls thereto to guide.
“Rise up, rise up, my brother Lazarus,
And you come along with me.
There is a place prepared in heaven
Upon an Angel's knee.”
And it fell out upon a day
Rich Diversus sickened and died.
There came a serpent out of hell,
His souls thereto to guide.
“Rise up, rise up, my evil brother,
Won't you come along with me.
There is a place prepared in hell
Upon a serpent's knee.”
If I were alive again,
In the space of one half hour
I would make my peace secure
And take the devil's power.