Down in Yon Forest
Notation:
Standard Notation
ABC Notation
Mandolin Tablature
traditional
PDF Files:
--- choose file type ---
Standard Notation
Mandolin Tablature
Song Sheet
English
Play
MIDI
No audio
available
Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
Print
this page
View
notes
Lyrics:
Down in yon forest there stands a hall:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
It's covered all over with purple and pall
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
In that hall there stands a bed:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
It's covered all over with scarlet so red:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
At the bed-side there lies a stone:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
Which the sweet Virgin Mary knelt upon:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
Under that bed there runs a flood:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
The one half runs water, the other runs blood:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
At the bed's foot there grows a thorn:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
Which ever blows blossom since he was born:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
Over that bed the moon shines bright:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
Denoting our Saviour was born this night:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams from Mr. Hall of<br> Castleton, Derbyshire.<br> The earliest version is more directly related to the<br> medieval stories of the Grail Quest including the<br> wounded knight who must be cured for the waste land<br> to become fertile again. An extensive study of the<br> transition from pagan rituals to Christian romance<br> is covered in Jesse's Weston's From Ritual to Romance.<br> Weston's book is an academic examination of the roots of the<br> King Arthur legends and seeks to make connections<br> between the early pagan elements and the later Christian<br> influences. The book's main focus is on the Holy Grail<br> tradition and its influence, particularly the Wasteland motif.<br> The origin of Weston's book is in James George Frazer's<br> seminal work on folklore, magic and religion, The Golden Bough (1890).<br> This is included in The Oxford Book of Carols (#61).<br> It was recorded by Joan Baez. I learned it from her recording.<br>
Click
here
for a full page view.