The Holly and the Ivy
January 2, 2014
ROBERT SHAW’S arrangement of this beautiful and ancient carol can be heard here.
Here are the lyrics:
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown.
Refrain:
O, the rising of the sun,
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour.
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good.
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown.
— Comments —
Thomas F. Bertonneau writes:
I have always loved “The Holly and the Ivy” and duly I have paid close attention to it, music and words. What happens to the poor ivy after the first verse? Everything else is “resurrected” verse by verse.
Laura writes:
The ivy represents fidelity and eternal life. Without it, the holly would not be as beautiful, but it is not the star of the show.
Buck writes:
The Wikipedia entry on The Holly and the Ivy tells of a rich history. It says of another very appealing version from older texts; The Contest of the Ivy and the Holly, that “There are indications in other manuscripts that in ancient English village life there was a midwinter custom of holding singing-contests between men and women, where the men sang carols praising holly (for its “masculine” qualities) and disparaging ivy, while women sang songs praising the ivy (for its “feminine” qualities) and disparaging holly. (More of the men’s songs have been recorded and survived than the women’s, as in the examples [below] above.) The resolution between the two was under the mistletoe.”
Holly stands in the hall, fair to behold:
Ivy stands without the door, she is full sore a cold.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
Holly and his merry men, they dance and they sing,
Ivy and her maidens, they weep and they wring.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
Ivy hath chapped fingers, she caught them from the cold,
So might they all have, aye, that with ivy hold.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
Holly hath berries red as any rose,
The forester, the hunter, keep them from the does.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
Ivy hath berries black as any sloe;
There come the owl and eat him as she go.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
Holly hath birds a fair full flock,
The nightingale, the popinjay, the gentle laverock.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
Good ivy, what birds hast thou?
None but the owlet that cries how, how.
Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wis;
Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is.
