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The Meaning of the Cherry Tree Carol Folksong: Old Christmas, Sacred Trees and Fertility Goddesses

Easy Folk Songs to Sing: The Cherry Tree Carol

A shepherd plays pan pipes while two young women dance

Introduced by Gwilym Davies

There are many songs in the English tradition praising the virtues of farming life, such as “All Jolly Fellows that Follow the Plough,” “Jim the Carter’s Lad,” and the song presented here. It is particularly popular in the English South and Midlands, where sheep farming was dominant. It is no older than the 19th century in this form, but is based on an older song praising sailing life.

Richard Chidlaw learned this version from singer William Chappell in Tresham, Gloucestershire, hence the reference to Tresham Hill. Other versions place the action elsewhere. Gwilym Davies recorded Richard singing it in on October 4, 2003 in Dursley, Gloucestershire. You still hear the song fairly regularly in local sing arounds.

Just out of interest, here is a different version of it, collected by Sharp in Gloucestershire and sung by Jon Doran, who is making a name for himself on the circuit. I hope you enjoy it.

"We Shepherds Are the Best of Men" sheet music
Download a PDF of the sheet music for “We Shepherds Are the Best of Men.”

Lyrics

1. We shepherds be the best of men that e’er trod English ground,
When we come to an alehouse, we value not a crown
We spends our money freely and pays before we go
With no ale in the vale where the cold wintry winds do blow.
(Repeat last two lines)

2. A man that is a shepherd doth need a valiant heart,
He must not be faint-hearted but boldly do his part,
He must not be faint-hearted be it rain or frost or snow,
With no ale in the vale where the cold wintry winds do blow.
(Repeat last two lines)

3. When I kept sheep on Tresham Hill it made me heart to ache
To see the ewes hang out their tongues and hear the lambs to bleat,
Then I set out with courage and o’er the hills did go
And penned them there in the fold while the cold wintry winds do blow.
(Repeat last two lines)

4. As soon as I had penned them there I turned me back in haste
Unto some jovial company some liquor for to taste,
For drink and jovial company they are me heart’s delight
While me sheep lie asleep all the forepart of the night.
(Repeat last two lines)

Gwilym Davies hails from southern England but also has Welsh ancestry. He is an experienced singer of traditional songs, both accompanied and unaccompanied. For more than 40 years, he has been tracking down and recording traditional singers, and more than half his repertoire is based on songs from those singers. He has learned a large number of songs first-hand from the English Traveller community. He is a tireless researcher of folk song and has given many presentations on the subject. He recently had a book published, Catch it, Bottle it and Paint it Green, which recounts some of his experiences of meeting and recording source singers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Can I Sing That? Catawba Indian Nation Songs, Context and Colonization:

Learn to Sing Two Catawba Language Songs:

Learn to Sing “I Am Going to the West:”

Engraving of a young woman holding a baby

Introduced by Pete Coe

“Catch Me If You Can” is a broadside I did at the time when the original recordings were released on Veteran Tapes’ Songs from Cornish Travellers, later re-released on Veteran/Backshift on CD, then recorded by me on “In Paper Houses.” I seem to remember that a copy of the original release on VT was sent to the Library Of Congress.

For anyone who’s interested, the Veteran recordings of Betsy and Charlotte Renals and Sophie Legg are available on downloads from Proper. Their tape/CD was also titled “Catch Me If You Can.” My recording of the song is also available on the usual downloads, and I’ve still got CDs available via my website.

So….in March 1978, I headed down to Bodmin in Cornwall to record family and travellers’ songs from Betsy (78) and Charlotte Renals (76) and Sophie Legg (60). I’d been introduced to their songs by Sophie’s son Vic at Bodmin Folk Club, and then to the ladies themselves on previous visits. Betsy, as head of the family, wanted to know why a young man like me was interested in these old songs sung by old ladies. I realised this was a test, so I sang her “The Banks of Red Roses,” which met with her approval, and the recording dates were set.

Vic told me that all three sisters had spent a lot of time recalling and practicing songs they hadn’t sung much in recent years. Charlotte had most songs, including “Ball Of Yarn” and “Lord Lovel;” Betsy had “Game Of All Fours” and “The Old Miser;” and Sophie had “Thorneymore Woods” and “Catch Me If You Can.” They all had several rare music hall ditties too, like “Good for Nothing Man” and “Just Beginning To Sprout.”

Although I’d met the ladies before, I didn’t record anything on the first day. Charlotte came round to Betsy’s, and we chatted about their life as travellers and as the main hawkers in the Orchard Family, and how they’d met up with and married two Methodist farmers’ sons, Bob and Jack Renals (their parents did not approve). They lived under canvas in Penrose Army tents (as used in the American Civil War!). Father, Edwin Orchard, was a shrewd business man, so when all three sisters came off the road in the 1920s, he bought a terrace of about eight houses, where Betsy, Charlotte and Sophie and families were still living in 1978.

Sophie’s daughter Viv has moved back into the terrace in recent years, and both Vic and Viv Legg have recorded CDs for Veteran. Looking back to that March in 1978 when I became a folk song collector, and after a 50-year career as a professional folk musician, I regard that week of the company and recording of Betsy, Charlotte and Sophie as one of my most worthwhile and proudest achievements.

Listen to Pete sing “Catch Me If You Can:”

"Catch Me If You Can" sheet music
Download a PDF of the sheet music for “Catch Me If You Can.”

Lyrics

It was early, early all in the spring,
Down in those meadows growing green.
A fair pretty maiden I chanced to meet,
And I asked her if she would walk with me.

I asked her if she would walk with me,
Down in those meadows growing green.
I’d show her flowers and pretty things
And I’d show her what she had never seen.

As this young couple went strolling along,
He sang to her some sweet pretty song.
He sang to her some sweet pretty song,
And soon he gained her favour.

Now that you’ve had your will of me,
And stolen away my sweet liberty.
You have stolen away my sweet liberty,
Won’t you please tell me your name, sir?

My name is Catch me, that’s if you can,
I’ll marry you when I return.
I’ll marry you when I return,
But I’m going over the ocean.

Now three long months they had gone and past,
And six long months he never returned.
Nine long months it had come at last,
And the child had got no father.

I’ll search this wide world, around and around,
I’ll find that young man if I can.
I’ll find that young man, if I can,
If I catch him at his pleasure.

Sung by Sophie Legg on Veteran Tapes
Backshift Broadsheets, Ripponden, West Yorkshire.

Notes on Pete Coe from Colin Irwin of Mojo magazine:

“Pete Coe in many ways represents the backbone of the modern folk revival. A fine solo performer and an energetic activist for the scene as well, founding Ryburn 3 Step, running folk clubs, dances and workshops in Ripponden and beyond, while also teaching music and dancing in schools. He’s still one of the most committed, most versatile, most important folk artists in Britain.”

CDSS is pleased to support “Songs that Speak,” a monthly YouTube series by Saro Lynch-Thomason. Learn about the history, folklore, and modern-day relevance of traditional songs, and sing along as Saro teaches each song through sing-and-repeat.

Most recent:

Past Songs

Join us each month in song!

Since 2016—our designated Year of Song—CDSS has featured a traditional song each month. Lorraine Hammond spearheaded this effort, and it was such a popular feature that Judy Cook volunteered to continue the tradition in 2017 and beyond. 

Note: Many of these old songs should be looked at as “fairy tales for adults” in that they often address very strong, and sometimes scary, subject matter. They allow us to deal with difficult situations and emotions with the distance afforded by putting it in a song. They are cautionary tales, and had their use as such.

This month’s song:

  • Antique photo of Seth Davy, a bearded man entertaining children with wooden puppets. May 2024: Seth Davy
    Submitted by Dave Para

    The song is also known by “Whiskey on a Sunday” or “Come Day, Go Day.” Liverpool folksinger Glyn Hughes wrote it in 1959 after hearing stories from older people who remembered seeing Davy in the 1890s.

    Originally a sailor from Jamaica, Seth Davy became a fixed character on the streets of Liverpool entertaining, especially young children, dancing his three homemade dolls on a plank. He sang the minstrel song “Massa Is a Stingy Man,” with the chorus, “Sing come day go day, God send Sunday, we’ll drink whiskey all the week, and buttermilk on Sunday.”

    The place and idioms in the lyrics reference Liverpool, but Irish singers have sung the song often with words changed to reference Dublin.

    Listen to John Roberts and Tony Barrand singing “Seth Davy:”

    See English singer Christopher Lawley essentially re-enacting Seth Davy:

    Sheet music for "Seth Davy"
    Download the sheet music for “Seth Davy.”

    Lyrics: Seth Davy or Come Day, Go Day

    By Glyn Hughes

    Chorus:
    Come day, go day
    Wish in my heart for Sunday
    Drinking buttermilk all the week
    Whiskey on a Sunday.


    He sat on the corner of Bevington Bush
    Beside an old packing case
    And the dolls on the end of his plank went a-dancing
    As he crooned with a smile on his face:

    The tired old man drummed the wooden beam
    His dolls, they danced the gear
    A better old show as you’ve ever seen
    At the Pivvy or the New Brighton Pier:

    In 1902 old Seth Davy died
    His song was heard no more
    The three dancing dolls in the jowler bin ended
    And the plank went to mend the back door:

    But on some stormy nights down old Scotty Road way
    With the wind blowing in from the sea
    You can still hear the song of old Seth Davy
    As he croons to his dancing dolls three:

    Dave Para is a folksinger from Missouri and now from New Mexico, who with his late wife, Cathy Barton, danced the limberjack for children many, many times. He used information from a Mudcat thread and Secondhand Songs for this article.

Past Songs

About CD+S Online

As part of the CDSS Centennial, this peer-reviewed journal, which appeared in print from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, returned as CD+S Online in April 2016. In its rebooted form, CD+S Online is a publication that offers an opportunity for those who love and think seriously about our arts to present their research in an entertaining and scholarly way for readers around the world interested in traditional dance, music, and song rooted in England and North America. Articles in CD+S Online are longer and more detailed than those found in its sister publication, CDSS News, and represent an exploration of the past, a celebration of the present, speculations as to the future, and a means for future generations to mark the status and development of our shared art form at any given point in time. 

Call for Proposals

Proposals for articles are accepted at any time. Send your proposal (350-word; i.e., one page) to journal@cdss.org. (Please read the Submissions and Style guidelines before submitting a proposal.)

Allison Thompson
General Editor, CD+S Online

CD+S Online Review Board

  • Allison Thompson, General Editor
  • Jenny Beer, Ph.D.
  • Jeremy Carter-Gordon
  • Graham Christian, Ph.D.
  • Stephen Corrsin, Ph.D.
  • Robert Dalsemer
  • Susan De Guardiola
  • Tim Eriksen, Ph.D.
  • Colin Hume
  • Robert Isaacs
  • Jesse Karlsberg, Ph.D.
  • David Millstone
  • Suzanne Mrozak
  • Richard Powers
  • John Ramsay
  • Jocelyn Reynolds
  • John Roberts
  • Gary Roodman, Ph.D.
  • Derek Schofield
  • Christopher Smith, Ph.D.
  • Stephanie Smith, Ph.D.
  • Daniel Walkowitz, Ph.D.
  • Alan Winston

Latest Issue

  • CD+S Online Volume 3 coverCD+S Volume 3, April 2022

    With the 2022 issue of Country Dance + Song Online, we are excited to present three articles on very different topics, two of them by contributors new to the journal. We will time-travel to three centuries of Anglo-American dance—all different, but all evolutionarily connected.

    Articles

    • “The Grand March” by Alan Duffy
    • “Couple Dances, Douglas Kennedy’s English Folk Dance Society, and The British Old Time Dance Revival” by Dr. Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe
    • “A Traditional Square Dance in Upstate South Carolina, 2007-2011” by Bob Dalsemer

    Download PDF View as a Flipbook

Past Issues

Latest Issue

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All material in the CDSS News is copyrighted by CDSS, the individual author or the original publication and may not be reproduced—other than for personal use—without permission. Views expressed represent those of the authors and not necessarily of CDSS.

“5 Things…Inside the Dancing Mind of…” is a one-hour chat with Q&A from movers and shakers in the English country dance community from across the country about the 5 things that they feel are important to our passion for ECD and why. Hosted by the Historical Tea & Dance Society.

  • Dr. John RamsayDecember 19, 2022Leader, organizer, researcher, dancerVideo
  • Ann SchauOctober 24, 2022Pianist and band leaderVideo
  • David MacemonJuly 20, 2022Caller, dancer, former CDSS board memberVideo
  • Wendy GrahamMay 18, 2022Contra callerVideo
  • ECD ChoreographersApril 15, 2022Alan Winston, David Smukler, Jenny Beer, Sharon Green, and Gary RoodmanVideo
  • Deborah DenenfeldMarch 15, 2022Dance educator and leaderVideo
  • Andy Davis & Peter AmidonFebruary 15, 2022Performing and teaching artistsVideo
  • Mike RichardsonJanuary 18, 2022Musician, dancer, caller, composer, choreographer and organizerVideo
  • Bob DalsemerDecember 21, 2021Caller, teacher, musician, organizer, former CDSS PresidentVideo
  • Alan Roberts & Sande GilletteNovember 16, 2021Sound engineer, fiddle players, organizerVideo
  • Steve HoweOctober 19, 2021Former Director of CDSS Camp Programs, dancerVideo
  • Our 5 Things TeamJune 29, 2021The stories of some of the folks behind the scenes who made it all happenVideo
  • Our Online PioneersJune 22, 2021Creating new opportunities for us to share and experience the joy of music, dance, and song!Video
  • Alex CummingJune 19, 2021In conjunction with Hey Days Dance CampVideo
  • Various directorsJune 15, 2021Behind the scenes at dance campVideo
  • Val MedveJune 8, 2021Caller (English), teacher, organizer, and choreographerVideo
  • Bob GreenJune 1, 2021Caller, choreographer, videographerVideo
  • Nikki HerbstMay 25, 2021Teacher (English and contra) and organizerVideo
  • Frederick ParkMay 18, 2021Caller (English, contra, square, and folk), teacher, choreographer, organizer, storytellerVideo
  • Barbara GreenbergMay 11, 2021Musician (English and contra)Video
  • Philippe CallensMay 4, 2021A tribute to the renowned caller, teacher, and choreographerVideo
  • Dave BartleyApril 27, 2021Musician (English and contra) and composerVideo
  • Rosemary LachApril 20, 2021Caller (English and contra) and organizerVideo
  • Mary DevlinApril 13, 2021Caller (English and contra), choreographer, and former CDSS Board PresidentVideo
  • Jim MorrisonApril 6, 2021Musician, caller, researcher, former Director of CDSSVideo
  • Audrey KnuthMarch 30, 2021Musician (contra)Video
  • Graham ChristianMarch 23, 2021Caller (English), researcher, writerVideo
  • Paul HutchinsonMarch 20, 2021Accordionist in any style you’d like to nameVideo
  • Dan BlimMarch 16, 2021CallerVideo
  • Jacqueline SchwabMarch 9, 2021Pianist and caller (English)Video
  • Alisa DodsonMarch 2, 2021Caller and dance writer (English)Video
  • Karen AxelrodFebruary 23, 2021Musician (English and contra)Video
  • Nicolas BroadbridgeFebruary 20, 2021Caller and teacher (English), accordionist, researcher, composer, choreographerVideo
  • Alex CummingFebruary 16, 2021Traditional singer, musician (accordion & piano), and callerVideo
  • Jeff SperoFebruary 9, 2021Pianist, caller, and choreographer (contra)Video
  • Barbara FinneyFebruary 2, 2021Caller and teacher (English), organizerVideo
  • Elizabeth GoossenJanuary 26, 2021Caller (English), choreographer (English and Scottish), composer, musician, organizerVideo
  • Gaye FiferJanuary 19, 2021Caller (English and contra)Video
  • Wayne HankinJanuary 12, 2021Multi-instrumentalist (also Cirque du Soleil), inventor of the Jubo (see link).Video
  • Danny WalkowitzJanuary 5, 2021Dancer and professional historianVideo After-talk
  • Darlene HamiltonDecember 22, 2020Caller and multi-talented organizerVideo
  • Alan WinstonDecember 15, 2020Caller, choreographer, and dance organizerVideo
  • Heather ClarkeDecember 8, 2020Researcher and dancerVideo
  • Dave WieslerDecember 1, 2020“Exploring Dance Tunes”Video
  • Chris SackettNovember 24, 2020Caller, composer and, Choreographer (English)Video
  • Jenny BeerNovember 17, 2020Caller and choreographer (English)Video
  • Jonathan JensenNovember 10, 2020Musician and composerVideo
  • Many guestsNovember 3, 2020 Video
  • Martha GriffinOctober 27, 2020Caller and choreographer (English)Video
  • David SmuklerOctober 20, 2020Caller and dance writer (English, contra, and square)Video
  • Walter NelsonOctober 17, 2020Organizer and lecturer (Historical)Video
  • Gene MurrowOctober 13, 2020Caller, musician, and producer (English)Video
  • Susan Kevra and Rachel BellOctober 6, 2020Caller (Susan) and musicians (both) for English and contraVideo
  • Lisa GreenleafSeptember 22, 2020Caller (English, contra, squares)Video
  • Paul CooperSeptember 19, 2020Researcher (Regency)Video
  • Louise SiddonsSeptember 15, 2020Caller (English and contra) and organizerVideo
  • Chip PrinceSeptember 8, 2020Musician (English and contra)Video
  • Anna RainSeptember 1, 2020Caller (English and contra) and  musicianVideo
  • Shira KammenAugust 25, 2020Musician and composerVideo
  • Olivia BarryAugust 18, 2020Caller (English, contra, Irish), organizer, and researcherVideo
  • Allison ThompsonAugust 15, 2020Historian, dance writer, musician, and bloggerVideo
  • Gary RoodmanAugust 11, 2020Dance writerVideo
  • Beverly FrancisAugust 4, 2020Caller (English)Video
  • Bridget WhiteheadJuly 28, 2020Caller and organizerVideo
  • Brooke FriendlyJuly 21, 2020Special theme: Global Terminology / Positional CallingVideo
  • Colin HumeJuly 18, 2020Caller (English, contra, square…), dance writer, composer, and researcherVideo
  • Dave WieslerJuly 14, 2020Pianist and composer (English, contra, and Scottish)Video
  • Paul RossJuly 7, 2020Caller (English), videographer, and  organizerVideo
  • James HutsonJune 30, 2020Caller and dance writer (English and contra)Video
  • Katy GermanJune 23, 2020CDSS Executive Director 2017-presentVideo
  • Brad FosterJune 16, 2020CDSS Executive & Artistic Director 1983-2011Video
  • Jenna SimpsonJune 9, 2020Caller (English) and dance writerVideo
  • Scott HiggsJune 2, 2020Caller (English and contra) and dance writerVideo
  • David MillstoneMay 26, 2020Caller (English), videographer, writer, Past CDSS Board PresidentVideo
  • Orly KrasnerMay 19, 2020Caller (English), dance writer, tune composer, and academicVideo
  • Susan de GuardiolaMay 16, 2020Historical dance teacher and researcherVideo
  • Brooke FriendlyMay 12, 2020Caller (English) and dance writerVideo
  • Bruce HamiltonMay 5, 2020Caller (English), Scottish teacher, and thought-provoking speakerVideo
  • Sharon GreenApril 28, 2020Organizer, caller (English), and dance composerVideo
  • Kate BarnesApril 21, 2020Multi-instrumentalist (English and contra), composer, and publisherVideo
  • Cécile LayeApril 18, 2020French teacher of English danceVideo
  • Rebecca KingApril 14, 2020Pianist (English and contra) and composerVideo
  • Kalia KlibanApril 7, 2020Caller (English and contra) and dance writerVideo
  • Joanna ReinerMarch 31, 2020Caller (English)Video
  • Graham ChristianMarch 24, 2020Caller (English), researcher, and writerVideo

Download the Dance It Yourself Teacher’s Guide 
(1.4 MB PDF)

Dance It Yourself, the CDSS multigenerational dance video series, is our response to dancing at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are you a teacher or a homeschool parent, looking for resources to share with your students? Would you like them to be able to dance and sing at home, under your supervision? Would you like someone else to do all the teaching and explaining of the dances for you? You’ve come to the right place!

We hope that this seven-video series will help you and your students to share the love of traditional dance and music, even through the Zoom screen!

The Dance It Yourself series features well-known traditional dance callers, musicians, and a wide variety of dance styles, all of which can be done solo or in a couple.

Dances are demonstrated for you and your students dancing both singly and in pairs. All dances are done in small spaces, showing you how it can be done in your own homes.

Dance along with us—and dance it yourself!

What Music Teachers Are Saying

  • “The CDSS Dance It Yourself video series is fabulous! I’ll be using it to teach on-line Kodály training courses this summer. The classroom applications for post-COVID are immeasurable. Please keep making more!”

    –Georgia A. Newlin, DMA

  • “During this difficult time of COVID, it is so inspiring to see CDSS continuing their mission. So happy to be a member of CDSS and seeing a collaborative effort of musicians, callers, and dancers working together to offer these amazing opportunities. The joy I felt from watching the father and son dancing together warmed my heart. With the ongoing work of CDSS, I remain hopeful that dancing will happen soon.”

    –Amy Krafchick

  • “Thank you for your work on this! The absence of folk dance in my classroom is as bad as the absence of singing. This will help so much!”

    –Nina Kindt Wilson

  • “Thank you (Robbin L Marcus!) I find sharing a dance video where someone else teaches is the perfect breather I need to get through my online classes. Also evens the playing field when I have virtual and in-person students together.”

    –L.D.

  • “Thank you SO much!!! What a gift to our profession.”

    –E.G.

  • “How wonderful! This will definitely fill a need. It inspires me to do some of my own virtual folk dance videos, too!”

    –Tracy Doty Ward

  • “I’m watching the videos and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!!”

    –David Macemon