The Gloucestershire Wassail, also known as "Wassail! Wassail! All Over the Town", "The Wassailing Bowl" and "Wassail Song" is an English Christmas carol from the Gloucestershire region of England, dating back to at least the 18th century, but may be older. The author of the lyrics and composer of the music are unknown. The first known publication of the song's current version was in 1928 in the Oxford Book of Carols, however, earlier versions of the song were published, including, but not limited to, publications in 1838, 1857, and 1868 by William Chappell, Robert Bell, and William Henry Husk respectively. Husk's 1868 publication contained a reference to it being sung by wassailers in the 1790s in Gloucestershire. "Gloucestershire Wassail" has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 209.
History
The song was sung in parts of England during the days of wassailing. This historical setting and the nature of its lyrics make it similar to carols such as the aforementioned Here We Come A-wassailing. The current most common version of the song was first published in 1928 in the Oxford Book of Carols by one of the book's three authors, Ralph Vaughan Williams. The tune was sung to him in August or July 1909 at the Swan Inn, an inn in Pembridge, Herefordshire, by an old, as-of-yet unknown person from Gloucestershire. Vaughan Williams published the tune and these lyrics in 1913. However, for the 1928 Oxford publication, he used different lyrics; the ones commonly sung today. These lyrics he largely got from renowned folk music revivalist Cecil J Sharp, as well as some from nineteenth century printed sources. Sharp's collection of lyrics were published in his 1916 book English Folk Songs, Collected and Arranged with Pianoforte Accompaniment by Cecil J Sharp. In the book, Sharp wrote:
The first six stanzas in the text are those that Mr. Bayliss gave me; they are printed without any alteration. The last three stanzas are from a variant sung to me by Mr. Isaac Bennett of Little Sodbury. The words are very similar to, but not identical with, those of "The Gloucestershire Wassailer's Song" quoted by Bell.
Through the years, there have been, and to a lesser extent, still are, many different variations of the lyrics, chorus, and number of stanzas sung, depending on historical time period, geographic location, arrangement, and individual circumstance. The underlying tune used for the lyrics, has also altered considerably, depending on similar factors. However, it is important to note, that the currently used version of the tune can still be documented to have existed at least several hundred years ago. The sheet music from Husk's 1868 book, which contains the farthest-back reference of it being sung, resembles today's, and in the oldest known sheet music publication, from an 1813 piece in England's Times Telescope, the tune closely resembles today's. The Americanmusical groupMannheim Steamroller did a popular instrumental cover of the song titled "Wassail, Wassail" on their 1984 album Christmas.
Lyrics
Below are the ten traditional stanzas of lyrics, as originally published in the Oxford Book of Carols. Note the first stanza is also the chorus. It is traditionally sung at the beginning of the song and after each stanza, or some variation thereof:
