The Craven Churn-Supper Song

God rest you, merry gentlemen!

Be not moved at my strain,

For nothing study shall my brain,

But for to make you laugh:

For I came here to this feast,

For to laugh, carouse, and jest,

And welcome shall be every guest,

To take his cup and quaff.

Cho. Be frolicsome, every one,

Melancholy none;

Drink about!

See it out,

And then we'll all go home,

And then we'll all go home!

This ale it is a gallant thing,

It cheers the spirits of a king;

It makes a dumb man strive to sing,

Aye, and a beggar play!

A cripple that is lame and halt,

And scarce a mile a day can walk,

When he feels the juice of malt,

Will throw his crutch away.

Cho. Be frolicsome, &c.

'Twill make the parson forget his men, -

'Twill make his clerk forget his pen;

'Twill turn a tailor's giddy brain,

And make him break his wand,

The blacksmith loves it as his life, -

It makes the tinkler bang his wife, -

Aye, and the butcher seek his knife

When he has it in his hand!

Cho. Be frolicsome, &c.

So now to conclude, my merry boys, all,

Let's with strong liquor take a fall,

Although the weakest goes to the wall,

The best is but a play!

For water it concludes in noise,

Good ale will cheer our hearts, brave boys;

Then put it round with a cheerful voice,

We meet not every day.

Cho. Be frolicsome, &c.

The Clown's Courtship

Quoth John to Joan, wilt thou have me?

I prythee now, wilt? and I'ze marry with thee,

My cow, my calf, my house, my rents,

And all my lands and tenements:

Oh, say, my Joan, will not that do?

I cannot come every day to woo.

I've corn and hay in the barn hard by,

And three fat hogs pent up in the sty:

I have a mare, and she is coal black,

I ride on her tail to save my back.

Then say, &c.

I have a cheese upon the shelf,

And I cannot eat it all myself;

I've three good marks that lie in a rag,

In the nook of the chimney, instead of a bag.

Then say, &c.

To marry I would have thy consent,

But faith I never could compliment;

I can say nought but 'hoy, gee ho,'

Words that belong to the cart and the plow.

Then say, &c.

Cornish Midsummer Bonfire Song

The bonny month of June is crowned

With the sweet scarlet rose;

The groves and meadows all around

With lovely pleasure flows.

As I walked out to yonder green,

One evening so fair;

All where the fair maids may be seen

Playing at the bonfire.

Hail! lovely nymphs, be not too coy,

But freely yield your charms;

Let love inspire with mirth and joy,

In Cupid's lovely arms.

Bright Luna spreads its light around,

The gallants for to cheer;

As they lay sporting on the ground,

At the fair June bonfire.

All on the pleasant dewy mead,

They shared each other's charms;

Till Phoebus' beams began to spread,

And coming day alarms.

Whilst larks and linnets sing so sweet,

To cheer each lovely swain;

Let each prove true unto their love,

And so farewell the plain.

The Crafty Lover; or, The Lawyer Outwitted

[This excellent old ballad is transcribed from a copy printed in Aldermary church-yard. It still continues to be published in the old broadside form.]

Of a rich counsellor I write,

Who had one only daughter,

Who was of youthful beauty bright;

Now mark what follows after.

Her uncle left her, I declare,

A sumptuous large possession;

Her father he was to take care

Of her at his discretion.

She had ten thousand pounds a-year,

And gold and silver ready,

And courted was by many a peer,

Yet none could gain this lady.

At length a squire's youngest son

In private came a-wooing,

And when he had her favour won,

He feared his utter ruin.

The youthful lady straightway cried,

'I must confess I love thee,

Though lords and knights I have denied,

Yet none I prize above thee:

Thou art a jewel in my eye,

But here,' said she, 'the care is, -

I fear you will be doomed to die

For stealing of an heiress.'

The young man he replied to her

Like a true politician;

'Thy father is a counsellor,

I'll tell him my condition.

Ten guineas they shall be his fee,

He'll think it is some stranger;

Thus for the gold he'll counsel me,

And keep me safe from danger.'

Unto her father he did go,

The very next day after;

But did not let the lawyer know

The lady was his daughter.

Now when the lawyer saw the gold

That he should be she gainer,

A pleasant trick to him he told

With safety to obtain her.

'Let her provide a horse,' he cried,

'And take you up behind her;

Then with you to some parson ride

Before her parents find her:

That she steals you, you may complain,

And so avoid their fury.

Now this is law I will maintain

Before or judge or jury.

'Now take my writing and my seal,

Which I cannot deny thee,

And if you any trouble feel,

In court I will stand by thee.'

'I give you thanks,' the young man cried,

'By you I am befriended,

And to your house I'll bring my bride

After the work is ended.'

Next morning, ere the day did break,

This news to her he carried;

She did her father's counsel take

And they were fairly married,

And now they felt but ill at case,

And, doubts and fears expressing,

They home returned, and on their knees

They asked their father's blessing,

But when he had beheld them both,

He seemed like one distracted,

And vowed to be revenged on oath

For what they now had acted.

With that bespoke his new-made son -

'There can be no deceiving,

That this is law which we have done

Here is your hand and sealing!'

The counsellor did then reply,

Was ever man so fitted;

'My hand and seal I can't deny,

By you I am outwitted.

'Ten thousand pounds a-year in store

'She was left by my brother,

And when I die there will be more,

For child I have no other.

'She might have had a lord or knight,

From royal loins descended;

But, since thou art her heart's delight,

I will not be offended;

'If I the gordian knot should part,

'Twere cruel out of measure;

Enjoy thy love, with all my heart,

In plenty, peace, and pleasure.'

Full Merrily SIngs the Cuckoo

Full merrily sings the cuckoo

Upon the beechen tree;

Your wives you well should look to,

If you take advice of me.

Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the morn,

When of married men

Full nine in ten

Must be content to wear the horn.

Full merrily sings the cuckoo

Upon the oaken tree;

Your wives you well should look to,

If you take advice of me.

Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the day!

For married men

But now and then,

Can 'scape to bear the horn away.

Full merrily sings the cuckoo

Upon the ashen tree;

Your wives you well should look to,

If you take advice of me.

Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the noon,

When married men

Must watch the hen,

Or some strange fox will steal her soon.

Full merrily sings the cuckoo

Upon the alder tree;

Your wives you well should look to,

If you take advice of me.

Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the eve,

When married men

Must bid good den

To such as horns to them do give.

Full merrily sings the cuckoo

Upon the aspen tree;

Your wives you well should look to,

If you take advice of me.

Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the night,

When married men,

Again and again,

Must hide their horns in their despite.

The Praise of a Dairy

In praise of a dairy I purpose to sing,

But all things in order, first, God save the King!

And the Queen, I may say,

That every May-day,

Has many fair dairy-maids all fine and gay.

Assist me, fair damsels, to finish my theme,

Inspiring my fancy with strawberry cream.

The first of fair dairy-maids, if you'll believe,

Was Adam's own wife, our great grandmother Eve,

Who oft milked a cow,

As well she knew how.

Though butter was not then as cheap as 'tis now,

She hoarded no butter nor cheese on her shelves,

For butter and cheese in those days made themselves.

In that age or time there was no horrid money,

Yet the children of Israel had both milk and honey;

No Queen you could see,

Of the highest degree,

But would milk the brown cow with the meanest she.

Their lambs gave them clothing, their cows gave them meat,

And in plenty and peace all their joys wore complete.

Amongst the rare virtues that milk does produce,

For a thousand of dainties it's daily in use:

Now a pudding I'll tell 'ee,

And so can maid Nelly,

Must have from good milk both the cream and the jelly:

For a dainty fine pudding, without cream or milk,

Is a citizen's wife, without satin or silk.

In the virtues of milk there is more to be mustered:

O! the charming delights both of cheesecake and custard!

If to wakes you resort,

You can have no sport,

Unless you give custards and cheesecake too for't:

And what's the jack-pudding that makes us to laugh,

Unless he hath got a great custard to quaff?

Both pancake and fritter of milk have good store,

But a Devonshire white-pot must needs have much more;

Of no brew you can think,

Though you study and wink,

From the lusty sack posset to poor posset drink,

But milk's the ingredient, though wine's ne'er the worse,

For 'tis wine makes the man, though 'tis milk makes the nurse.

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