The Ditchling Carol

Be merry all, be merry all.
With holly deck the festive hall.
Prepare the song, the feast, the hall
To welcome merry Christmas.

cho: And all remember, gentles gay:
For you who bask in fortune's ray
The year is all a holiday.
The poor have only Christmas.

You who in velvet mantle go,
Defy December's tempest's roar.
Oh, spare one garment from your store
To clothe the poor at Christmas.

You who the costly banquet deal
To friends who never famine feel,
Oh, spare one morsel from your meal
To feed the poor at Christmas.

With blazing logs of fuel the while,
Your homes are within summer's smile.
Oh, spare one log from off your pile
To warm the poor at Christmas.

So shall each note of mirth appear
More sweet to Heaven than praise or prayer,
And angels in their carols there
Shall bless the poor at Christmas.

From the Watersons' singing.
AD