Song, Chant, Poetry, Stories and Satire for the Pagan Community

This entry made: 01/05/2000

Title: The King
Lyrics by: traditional British folk song
Tune: traditional
Date:
Source: http://rzdspc77.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/steeleye.span/songs/theking.html
Recorded on: "Please to See the King," Steeleye Span, 1971; "Once Around the Wheel," Ian Corrigan, 1987 (Association for Consciousness Exploration, 1643 Lee Rd #9, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118)
Subject: Yule

[From the sleeve notes of the Steeleye Span album "Please to See the King":
The wren traditionally symbolised winter and the robin summer. On 
twelfth night in Pembrokeshire, where the song was collected, a
wren was hunted and killed to symbolise the death of winter and 
then placed in a garlanded box and taken from door to door. At
each house this song was sung ant the occupants asked to pay to 
see the dead wren with the words "Please to see the King."]

[This is from Pembrokeshire in South Wales, commemorating the wren-
killing on St. Steven's Day, Dec 26.  Old Christmas, still
celebrated rather than December 25, is Twelfth Night.]

Joy, Health, Love and Peace, be all here in this place.
By your leave we will sing, concerning our King.

Our King is well dressed, In the silks of the best,
In ribbons so rare, no King can compare.

We have traveled many miles, over hedges and stiles,
In search of our King, unto you we bring.

We have powder and shot, To conquer the lot,
We have cannon and ball, to conquer them all.

Old Yuletide is past, twelfth night is the last
And we bid you adieu, great joy to the new!

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