Now the holly bears a berry - Sans Day Carol (arr Mather)

Carols

Music:		Traditional Cornish Melody
Arranger:		R. Mather
Voicing:		Two Voices, Organ/Piano and optional instrument (flute or violin)
Words:		Traditional Cornish

Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,
And Mary bore Jesus, all wrapped up in silk:

And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be,
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly.
Holly! Holly!
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross:

Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all:

Now the holly bears a berry, as blood is it red,
Then trust we our Saviour, who rose from the dead:

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Sans Day Carol

Now the holly - arr Mather

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Sans Day Carol exerpt arrangement by R. Mather performed by Kingham Hill School Choir, Oxfordshire UK

TThe University of Texas at Tyler Patriot Singers

The “Sans Day Carol” or “St. Day Carol” is one of the many Cornish Christmas carols written in the 19th century. This carol and its melody were first transcribed from the singing of Thomas Beard, a villager in St Day in the parish of Gwennap, Cornwall. The fourth verse is a translation from the Cornish version, “Ma gron war’n gelln.” The lyrics of “Now the holly bears a berry,” the text most associated with the Sans Day Carol, are similar to those of “The Holly and the Ivy.”

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