| 00:00:08 | Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa, la, la, la, la, la la la, la. |
| 00:00:14 | 'Tis the season to be jolly, Fa, la la, la, la, la la, la, la. |
| 00:00:20 | Don we now our gay apparel, Fa, la, la la, la la, la, la, la. |
| 00:00:27 | Troll the ancient Yuletide carol, Fa,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. |
| 00:00:34 | See the blazing Yule before us, Fa,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. |
| 00:00:40 | Strike the harp and join the chorus, Fa,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. |
| 00:00:46 | Follow me in merry measure, Fa,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. |
| 00:00:52 | While I tell of Yuletide treasure, Fa,la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. |
| 00:01:03 | Americans have always been a singing people. |
| 00:01:08 | From the very beginnings of settlement they were singing songs of god and country and |
| 00:01:14 | then of course it wasn't long before there were patriotic songs and political songs; they |
| 00:01:20 | say many a president was actually sung into the White House. |
| 00:01:25 | If you had a really good melody and a really catchy tune, people would remember it; |
| 00:01:30 | and that was your way into your political office because people would remember that. |
| 00:01:35 | So it was a really very important means of communicating ideas, social thoughts, |
| 00:01:42 | concepts, social reform, all of the important things that we do today via social media, |
| 00:01:49 | through television, and through radio, and that sort of thing, |
| 00:01:52 | was communicated through the music. |
| 00:01:57 | While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, |
| 00:02:04 | The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around. |
| 00:02:48 | A virgin unspotted by Prophet foretold, Should bring forth a Savior |
| 00:02:53 | which now we behold. |
| 00:02:55 | To be our Redeemer from Death, Hell and Sin, Which Adam's transgressions involved us in. |
| 00:03:05 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:03:08 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:03:11 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:03:14 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:03:19 | God sent down an angel from heaven so high, |
| 00:03:23 | To certain poor shepherds in fields as they lie. |
| 00:03:27 | And made them no longer in sorrow to stay Because that our Saviour was born on this day. |
| 00:03:37 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:03:40 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:03:43 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:03:46 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:03:51 | Then presently after, the shepherds did spy A number of angels that stood in the sky; |
| 00:03:59 | They joyfully talked and sweetly did sing "To God be all glory, our Heavenly King!" |
| 00:04:10 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:04:13 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:04:16 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:04:19 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:04:24 | To teach us humility all this was done. |
| 00:04:27 | To learn us from hence haughty pride for to shun. |
| 00:04:32 | The manger his cradle who came from above, The great God of mercy, of peace and of love. |
| 00:04:43 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:04:46 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:04:48 | Then let us be merry, put sorrow away. |
| 00:04:52 | Our Savior, Christ Jesus, was born on this day. |
| 00:05:00 | Most of us have been singing together for about 36 years now. |
| 00:05:05 | Of course there's been a little turnover as people have had to move away for one reason |
| 00:05:10 | or the other but we still have some of the original members. |
| 00:05:14 | Priscilla does a very good job and she does a great deal of research and she helps us |
| 00:05:22 | with that so that we understand what we're doing. |
| 00:05:25 | That's a big part of what we do because our job is to to interpret to people |
| 00:05:30 | what these songs meant. |
| 00:05:32 | When we are researching the music, we almost always work with what we refer to as |
| 00:05:41 | primary sources; the actual music that was being utilized at the particular time. |
| 00:05:49 | If we're doing something that was on sheet music form, it will be the old, the original |
| 00:05:56 | and that to us definitely gives it more credibility. |
| 00:06:03 | If find a piece of music or a song book that's well-worn, we have a pretty good idea |
| 00:06:10 | that that must have been used a lot and must have been pretty popular. |
| 00:06:14 | We cover basically 200 years although we've gone earlier than that and we've also |
| 00:06:22 | done right up into the 1940s. |
| 00:06:25 | There are wonderful songs that come to us from the mountains of the upper south, what |
| 00:06:31 | we refer to as folk carols or folk hymns, |
| 00:06:35 | and they're definitely of a more serious nature. |
| 00:06:40 | "Christ was born in Bethlehem" is one of the most beautiful folk carols. |
| 00:06:46 | Christ was born in Bethlehem, Christ was born in Bethlehem, Christ was born in |
| 00:07:05 | Bethlehem, And in a manger laid. |
| 00:07:16 | And in a manger laid, And in a manger laid. |
| 00:07:39 | Christ was born in Bethlehem And in a manger laid. |
| 00:08:05 | Mary had a Baby, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:08 | Mary had a Baby, Yes, my Lord! |
| 00:08:11 | Mary had a Baby, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:14 | De people keep a-comin' an' de train done gone. |
| 00:08:19 | What did She name Him? |
| 00:08:21 | Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:22 | What did She name Him? |
| 00:08:24 | Yes, my Lord! |
| 00:08:26 | What did She name Him? |
| 00:08:27 | Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:28 | De people keep a-comin' an' de train done gone. |
| 00:08:34 | She name Him King Jesus, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:37 | She name Him King Jesus, Yes, my Lord! |
| 00:08:40 | She name Him King Jesus, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:43 | De people keep a-comin' an' de train done gone. |
| 00:08:48 | She name Him mighty Couns'lor, Yes, Lord. |
| 00:08:52 | She name Him mighty Couns'lor, Yes, my Lord! |
| 00:08:54 | She name Him mighty Couns'lor, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:08:57 | De people keep a-comin' an' de train done gone. |
| 00:09:03 | Oh, where was He born? |
| 00:09:04 | Yes, Lord! |
| 00:09:06 | Where was He born? |
| 00:09:08 | Yes, my Lord! |
| 00:09:09 | Where was He born? |
| 00:09:11 | Yes, Lord! |
| 00:09:12 | De' people keep acomin' an' de train done gone. |
| 00:09:17 | Oh, born in a manger, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:09:21 | Born in a manger, Yes, my Lord! |
| 00:09:24 | Born in a manger, Yes, Lord! |
| 00:09:27 | De people keep acomin' an' de train done gone. |
| 00:09:36 | Singing in the tavern is an activity that we can trace way way back. |
| 00:09:43 | Of course most of the taverns in those days were indeed places, gathering places. |
| 00:09:50 | Families might come there to eat or spend the time together but of course we also know |
| 00:09:57 | that the gentlemen loved to gather there and sing their wonderful pub songs. |
| 00:10:04 | A selection of tavern songs would not be complete without at least one being done by the |
| 00:10:11 | fellows, toasting in the tavern was of course something that was just done throughout the |
| 00:10:18 | year but probably more at Christmastime than any other. |
| 00:10:21 | So the fellows gave us "Here's to the Maid." Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen, |
| 00:10:30 | Here's to the widow of fifty; Here's to the flaunting extravagant queen, And here's to |
| 00:10:38 | the housewife that's thrifty. |
| 00:10:41 | So, here's to the lass, Let the toast pass; I'm sure she will |
| 00:10:47 | prove an excuse for the glass. |
| 00:10:50 | Here's to the lass, Let the toast pass; I'm sure she |
| 00:10:54 | will prove an excuse for the glass. |
| 00:11:01 | Here's to the charmer whose dimples we prize, Here's to the damsel with none, Sir; |
| 00:11:08 | Here's to the girl with a pair of blue eyes, And here's to the nymph with but one, Sir. |
| 00:11:16 | So, here's to the lass, Let the toast pass; I'm sure she will |
| 00:11:22 | prove an excuse for the glass. |
| 00:11:25 | Here's to the lass, Let the toast pass; I'm sure she |
| 00:11:29 | will prove an excuse for the glass. |
| 00:11:35 | Here's to the maid with a bosom of snow, Now to her brown as a berry; Here's to |
| 00:11:44 | the wife with a face full of woe, And here's to the girl that is merry. |
| 00:11:51 | So, here's to the lass, Let the toast pass; I'm sure she will |
| 00:11:57 | prove an excuse for the glass. |
| 00:12:00 | Here's to the lass, Let the toast pass; I'm sure she |
| 00:12:05 | will prove an excuse for the glass. |
| 00:12:14 | The Ohio Village is a very unique place because it's representative and was built to |
| 00:12:19 | resemble a county seat of the mid-19th century; early to mid-19th century. |
| 00:12:25 | The architecture is very unique, and when it was designed and built back in the |
| 00:12:30 | seventies, we kind-of had a corner on the market. |
| 00:12:38 | And we enjoyed a great popularity through the years. |
| 00:12:46 | It gets us in the Christmas mood to come here; the serenity of the village and the |
| 00:12:50 | way it's decorated, it's a wonderful time. |
| 00:12:54 | And it's peaceful here, and go out into the hubbub of shopping |
| 00:12:57 | and there's such a difference. |
| 00:13:03 | It is a little moment of sanity for people in the middle of all of the commercial |
| 00:13:05 | world that we're thrust in all of the time. |
| 00:13:09 | What we are finding and discovering now much to our delight is that we have a new |
| 00:13:14 | generation now who is very eager to learn about the past because again these buildings, |
| 00:13:20 | even though they are reproduction buildings, in other words they're not real, they |
| 00:13:26 | represent a very unique part of our past. |
| 00:13:32 | Come, mad boys, be glad boys, for Christmas is here, And we shall be feasted with |
| 00:13:39 | jolly good cheer; Then let us be merry, chase sorrow away, Let's eat and drink freely, |
| 00:13:44 | there's nothing to pay. |
| 00:13:48 | My master bids welcome, and so doth my dame. |
| 00:13:54 | And 'tis yonder smoking dish doth me inflame; Anon, I'll be with you, though you me |
| 00:13:59 | outface, For now I do tell you I have time and place. |
| 00:14:02 | I'll troll the bowl to you, Then let it go 'round, My heels are so light they can |
| 00:14:08 | stand on no ground; My tongue it doth clatter and goes pitter patter, Here's health to |
| 00:14:15 | you all, But I will not flatter. |
| 00:14:20 | Come, mad boys, be glad boys, for Christmas is here, And we shall be feasted with |
| 00:14:26 | jolly good cheer; Then let us be merry, chase sorrow away, Let's eat and drink freely, |
| 00:14:34 | there's nothing to pay. |
| 00:14:40 | There is an old carol called "Here We Come A-wassailing" that came to us from England |
| 00:14:44 | and actually the meaning there was that carolers would go from door to door on Christmas |
| 00:14:52 | Eve and expect to be invited in for a cup of wassail, which of course meant good cheer. |
| 00:14:59 | We know that wassail was an apple cider type drink but of course there were a few |
| 00:15:05 | other things added into that apple cider. |
| 00:15:09 | Here we come a-wassailing, Among the leaves so green. |
| 00:15:14 | Here we come a-wand'ring So fair to be seen. |
| 00:15:18 | Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail, too, And |
| 00:15:23 | God bless you and send you A Happy New Year Year, And God send |
| 00:15:29 | you A Happy New Year. |
| 00:15:33 | Our wassail cup is made of The rosemary tree, And so is yor beer Of the best barley. |
| 00:15:42 | Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail, too, |
| 00:15:47 | And God bless you and send you A Happy New Year Year, And God |
| 00:15:52 | send you A Happy New Year. |
| 00:15:57 | God bless the master of this house, Likewise the mistress too. |
| 00:16:01 | And all the little children That round the table go. |
| 00:16:06 | Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail, too, |
| 00:16:10 | And God bless you and send you A Happy New Year Year, And |
| 00:16:16 | God send you A Happy New Year. |
| 00:16:25 | Wassail, wassail, all over the town! |
| 00:16:29 | Our toast it is white, and our ale it is brown, Our bowl it is made of the white maple |
| 00:16:35 | tree; With the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee. |
| 00:16:41 | So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek, Pray God send our master a good piece of |
| 00:16:48 | beef, And a good piece of beef that may we all see; With the wassailing bowl we'll |
| 00:16:54 | drink to thee. |
| 00:16:57 | And here is to Dobbin and to his right eye, Pray God send our master a good Christmas |
| 00:17:04 | pie, And a good Christmas pie that may we all see; |
| 00:17:08 | With our wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee. |
| 00:17:13 | Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best, Then we hope your soul in heaven may |
| 00:17:20 | rest; But if you do draw us a bowl of the small, |
| 00:17:24 | Then down shall go butler, bowl and all. |
| 00:17:29 | Then here's to the maid in the lily white smock, Who tripped to the door |
| 00:17:34 | and slipped back the lock! |
| 00:17:36 | Who tripped to the door and pulled back the pin, |
| 00:17:40 | For to let these jolly wassailers in. Wassail. |
| 00:17:45 | wassail, all over the town! |
| 00:17:48 | Our toast it is white, and our ale it is brown, Our bowl it is made of the white maple |
| 00:17:54 | tree; With the wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee. |
| 00:18:05 | Part of what makes the Ohio Village Singers unique is the costuming. |
| 00:18:10 | I don't think we've ever sung a concert in what we refer to as "real clothes"; |
| 00:18:16 | or civilian clothes. |
| 00:18:18 | And if we're singing a song of a particular time period of course we will dress |
| 00:18:24 | according to that period and I think it helps us bring history alive. |
| 00:18:31 | The clothing was distinctly different as you went through different time periods, |
| 00:18:36 | as were the bonnets and the headgear, so we do try to be pretty authentic |
| 00:18:42 | and these are Civil War times. |
| 00:18:44 | With hoopskirts, (yes) the hoopskirt was the largest at the time of Civil War. |
| 00:18:51 | Methinks I see a heav'nly host Of angels on the wing, Methinks I hear their cheerful |
| 00:18:55 | notes, So merrily they sing. |
| 00:18:57 | Let all your fears be banished hence; Glad tidings we proclaim, For there's a Saviour |
| 00:19:01 | born today, And Jesus is His name. |
| 00:19:04 | Let all your fears be banished hence; Glad tidings we proclaim, For there's a Saviour |
| 00:19:06 | born today, And Jesus is His name. |
| 00:19:13 | Of course the Victorians loved to sing, and one of their favorite pastimes was to |
| 00:19:20 | gather around the piano to sing the latest hits of the day, and I think that their most |
| 00:19:27 | popular season for singing was indeed Christmas. |
| 00:19:31 | Many of the songs that they sang are songs that had been composed by American composers. |
| 00:19:38 | We have found so many songs from the Victorian era that have references to skating and |
| 00:19:46 | sleighing. |
| 00:19:48 | They must have had a lot of snow in those days due to the wealth of songs that we find. |
| 00:19:55 | The "Sleighing Glee" was one of the most popular. |
| 00:20:00 | Away! |
| 00:20:01 | away! |
| 00:20:01 | away we go, Merrily o'er the fleecy snow, Away, away, away we go, Merrily on we go. |
| 00:20:10 | Swiftly o'er the snow we go, Moonbeams sparkle round; Hoofs keep time to music's chime, |
| 00:20:17 | Merrily on we bound. |
| 00:20:20 | Away, away, away we go, Merrily o'er the fleecy snow, Away, away, away we go, |
| 00:20:27 | Merrily on we bound. |
| 00:20:30 | Jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing Jungle jingle jingle jingle jungle |
| 00:20:39 | jingle jingle jingle Away, away, away we go, Merrily o'er the fleecy snow, |
| 00:20:47 | Away, away, away we go, Merrily on we bound. |
| 00:20:52 | Glide along with laugh and song, O'er the fleecy snow; Swiftly ride with friends beside, |
| 00:20:59 | Cheerily on we go. Away, away, away we go, |
| 00:21:04 | Merrily o'er the fleecy snow. Away, away, away we go, Merrily on we bound. |
| 00:21:12 | Jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing, jing Jungle jingle jingle jingle jungle |
| 00:21:21 | jingle jingle jingle |
| 00:21:33 | When it comes to Christmas songs, it's a very interesting thing |
| 00:21:38 | that as far as we know, prior to the Civil War we do not see song collections with a |
| 00:21:45 | selection of the various carols that we know today; |
| 00:21:51 | of course we know they were being sung. |
| 00:21:54 | The French were singing the French carols, the English were singing the English, |
| 00:21:57 | certainly the Germans were singing their carols, and so forth. |
| 00:22:01 | We wonder if perhaps during the Civil War, as soldiers might have been celebrating |
| 00:22:08 | Christmas gathered around a campfire that they may have been singing these different |
| 00:22:13 | songs, and perhaps that's why after the Civil War we begin to see |
| 00:22:19 | the song collections put together. |
| 00:22:22 | There was so much music being written, they say more in the first year of the Civil |
| 00:22:27 | War than any other time in our country's history. |
| 00:22:30 | So most of the carols that are familiar to us today were not at least being sung on a |
| 00:22:37 | wide-spread basis prior to the Civil War. |
| 00:22:41 | Obviously what we're trying to do is to share with people what was done that you may |
| 00:22:48 | not hear today, and also to to have them share with us their singing, so we try to do a |
| 00:22:56 | lot of songs that everybody knows. |
| 00:22:59 | I think one of the most wonderful memories that I will take away from here when it |
| 00:23:07 | comes time for me to leave, will be the remembrance of a town hall full of people, lit by |
| 00:23:15 | kerosene light, singing together Silent Night. When we're finishing our program |
| 00:23:25 | with "Silent Night," to see the tears coming out of various people's eyes. |
| 00:23:31 | That's quite an experience when you see that. |
| 00:23:34 | Silent night! |
| 00:23:36 | Holy night! |
| 00:23:39 | All is calm, All is bright. |
| 00:23:47 | Round yon Virgin Mother and Child! |
| 00:23:58 | Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace! |
| 00:24:23 | Sleep in Heavenly peace! |
| 00:24:39 | I have a real passion for history. |
| 00:24:43 | And I love the fact that these songs reflect the spirit of the times and through the |
| 00:24:48 | songs we get a glimpse into the lives of the people. |
| 00:24:59 | I think my favorite part about being in the group is, watching the delight on people's |
| 00:25:06 | faces, when they understand that history can be told in music, and that it connects them |
| 00:25:15 | with the past. |
| 00:25:18 | In order to know ourselves and know who we are today we need to know about where we've |
| 00:25:22 | come from, what we were, and what we had at the very outset. |
| 00:25:26 | And then we can better chart our course for the future. |
| 00:25:29 | Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? |
| 00:25:33 | Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days of auld lang syne? |
| 00:25:42 | For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld land syne; We'll take a cup of kindness yet For |
| 00:26:04 | auld lang syne. |
| 00:26:17 | We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry |
| 00:26:23 | Christmas and a Happy New Year! |
| 00:26:26 | Good tidings we bring to you and your kin. |
| 00:26:31 | We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! |
| 00:26:36 | Now bring us some figgy pudding, Now bring us some figgy pudding, Now bring us some |
| 00:26:41 | figgy pudding, And bring it right here! |
| 00:26:44 | We won't go until we get some, We won't go until we get some, We won't go until we get |
| 00:26:50 | some, so bring some right here! |
| 00:26:56 | We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry Christmas, We wish you a Merry |
| 00:27:13 | Christmas and a Happy New Year! |
| 00:27:27 | HAPPY HOLIDAYS! |
Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions
