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Job Jenkins

Barrel of Pork, The

Keyte, Higford

I Went to Market

Wassail Song (Randwick)

Hunt, William Edmund

Wassail Song (Maisemore)

William Arthur Newman

Outlandish Knight, The

Early early in the Spring

Christmas is now Drawing Near at Hand

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Performer: Bishop, Emily
Place Collected: Bromsberrow Heath
Date collected: 1954 (26 Jun)
Collector: Wortley, Russell
Roud Number: 808

Not the joyous Christmas as you might expect from the title but more the “We’re all doomed unless we repent” variety, favoured by 19th century ballads writers. Like many religious songs, this one took root in the West Midlands, but rarely elsewhere. Miss Bishop’s tune and rendition are particularly fine.

Notes by Gwilym Davies 23 May 2015

Media & Downloads

Video - Steve Winwood

Hear the song/tune as collected (mp3 stream):

See the song/tune as collected (PDF file)
Hear the song/tune (midi file)
Version to sing (PDF file)
Hear a version to sing (midi file)

Modern recording performed by: Puzzlejug

Song/tune as collected (abc file)
Version to sing (abc file)