No. 15. THE VIRGIN UNSPOTTED.
Sung by the late Mr. Henry Thomas of Chipping Sodbury.
The first and second stanzas are exactly as Mr. Thomas sang them to me. The third lines of the second and fourth stanzas, being obviously corrupt, have been amended; while the last word of the concluding stanza, "Son", has been altered to "King".
The words in the text are almost identical with those printed on broadsides by Wood of Birmingham and Cotton of Tamworth. In making the above mentioned alterations I have been guided by these broadsides, from one of which, in all probability, Mr. Thomas originally learned his words.
Traditional versions of this carol, with tunes, are printed in Davies Gilbert's and Sandys's collections.
No. 16. SONS OF LEVI.
Sung by Mr. James Beale and Mrs. Harding at Ham Street.
The words are obviously very corrupt. The first and the last two stanzas in the text are substantially as they were sung to me, but it has been necessary to make some small alterations in the other two stanzas. In making these changes I have been guided by a broadside version of the song printed by J. Nicholson of Belfast, which however, in some places is almost as unintelligible as the Ham Street version. The Irish broadside is a Masonic song in nine stanzas beginning thus:
Come all you Craftsmen that do wish
To propagate the grand design,
Come, enter into our high temple
And learn the art that is divine.
The last two stanzas given me at Ham Street are not in the broadside.
This carol is, and has been for many years, annually sung at Christmas in Ham Street and the neighbouring villages by a party of male carol singers. I have not found or heard of it elsewhere; nor can I connect the air, which is a strong one, with any other English folk-tune.
No. 17. THE LITTLE ROOM.
Sung by Mr. Samson Bates of Lilleshall, and Mr. Felton of Hadley, Salop.
This curious carol is very popular in this part of Shropshire where, despite its great length, it is frequently sung at Christmas time by small parties of two or more men. Miss K. Sorby, who very kindly noted the tune for me, tells me that Mr. Felton sang the first line of each stanza by himself, the remaining three lines being chanted in unison by both singers. Mr. Bates afterwards
sang the carol, or part of it, to me by himself and this enabled me to note many interesting variants of the music phrases, which were not, of course, sung
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