| 1 |
Joseph was an old man,
and an old man was he,
When he wedded Mary,
in the land of Galilee. |
| 2 |
Joseph and Mary walked
through an orchard good,
Where was cherries and berries,
so red as any blood. |
| 3 |
Joseph and Mary walked
through an orchard green,
Where was berries and cherries,
as thick as might be seen. |
| 4 |
O then bespoke Mary,
so meek and so mild:
'Pluck me one cherry, Joseph,
for I am with child.' |
| 5 |
O then bespoke Joseph,
with words most unkind:
'Let him pluck thee a cherry
that brought thee with child.' |
| 6 |
O then bespoke the babe,
within his mother's womb:
'Bow down then the tallest tree,
for my mother to have some.' |
| 7 |
Then bowed down the highest tree
unto his mother's hand;
Then she cried, See, Joseph,
I have cherries at command. |
| 8 |
O then bespake Joseph:
'I have done Mary wrong;
But cheer up, my dearest,
and be not cast down.' |
| 9 |
Then Mary plucked a cherry,
as red as the blood,
Then Mary went home
with her heavy load. |
| 10 |
Then Mary took her babe,
and sat him on her knee,
Saying, My dear son, tell me
what this world will be. |
| 11 |
'O I shall be as dead, mother,
as the stones in the wall;
O the stones in the streets, mother,
shall mourn for me all. |
| 12 |
'Upon Easter-day, mother,
my uprising shall be;
O the sun and the moon, mother,
shall both rise with me.' |
