Hey For Christmas!
from Midwinter Revels by GreenMatthews
-
Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
£1 GBP
-
Buy the Full Digital Album
-
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital AlbumComes in gatefold digisleeve with artwork by Frank Doran
Includes unlimited streaming of Midwinter Revels via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 1 day£12 GBP or more
-
-
Full Digital Discography
Get all 13 GreenMatthews releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Songs of the Sea, Festive Favourites, The Wind in the Willows, Virtual Wassail, Midwinter Revels, Roots&Branches, Come Again! Sweet Love Doth Now Invite (live), A Christmas Carol: A Folk Opera, and 5 more.
Purchasable with gift card£63 GBP (25% OFF)
about
A delightfully secular 17th-century song that features all of the elements of a quintessential Restoration Christmas - feasting, dancing, drinking, fornication and, of course, gratuitous violence towards bagpipers.
lyrics
Come one, come all, come Christmas time,
Come hear the music call you on,
To eat the vittles and drink the wine
And dance away the whole night long.
There’s Robin and Ralph and Harry too
They'll come and meet upon the green
With Betty andBridget, Sal and Sue
The finest wenches ever seen.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
There's a piper for to play the dance
When all the lads and lasses meet,
And men and maids away they dance
And follow the piper down the street.
Oh how they side and turn about
So nimbly go around the other;
And when that they have danced it out
They call the piper to play another.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
Thus they did dance from morn till night;
Til they were as merry as cup and can
Till they had tired the piper quite
And sweat all down their buttocks ran.
Then they unto Hot Cockles went,
But Sal gave Betty a blow too hard,
And down together smash they went
And all their sporting soon was marred.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
They took the piper, cracked his head,
His pipes they threw into the fire;
So drunk as they were nearly dead
And slept where they fell in the mire.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
Come hear the music call you on,
To eat the vittles and drink the wine
And dance away the whole night long.
There’s Robin and Ralph and Harry too
They'll come and meet upon the green
With Betty andBridget, Sal and Sue
The finest wenches ever seen.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
There's a piper for to play the dance
When all the lads and lasses meet,
And men and maids away they dance
And follow the piper down the street.
Oh how they side and turn about
So nimbly go around the other;
And when that they have danced it out
They call the piper to play another.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
Thus they did dance from morn till night;
Til they were as merry as cup and can
Till they had tired the piper quite
And sweat all down their buttocks ran.
Then they unto Hot Cockles went,
But Sal gave Betty a blow too hard,
And down together smash they went
And all their sporting soon was marred.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
They took the piper, cracked his head,
His pipes they threw into the fire;
So drunk as they were nearly dead
And slept where they fell in the mire.
Hey! for Christmas once a year,
When we have cakes, both ale and beer;
To the Christmas feast they come,
Young men and maids to shake their bums.
credits
from Midwinter Revels,
released November 30, 2020
Music and lyrics trad. arr. Green
Sophie: voice, recorder, English border bagpipes
Chris: voice. Renaissance cittern, accordion, bass, drums
Music and lyrics trad. arr. Green
Sophie: voice, recorder, English border bagpipes
Chris: voice. Renaissance cittern, accordion, bass, drums
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
GreenMatthews Coventry, UK
Chris Green and Sophie Matthews play English traditional songs and tunes in a thoroughly 21st-century kick-ass style. Using a blend of ancient instruments such as cittern, English bagpipes and shawm as well as modern folk instruments such as guitar, flute and piano accordion, they breathe new life into material from hundreds of years ago, making it fresh and relevant for a modern audience. ... more
shows
-
Jun 19Hoddesdon, UK
discography
-
Jul 2023 -
Dec 2022 -
Jun 2021 -
Dec 2020
contact / help
If you like GreenMatthews, you may also like:
-
supported by 12 fans who also own “Hey For Christmas!”
Just heard a track from this with you and the amazing Jenn Butterworth being played on R3 by Kathryn Tickell, felt literally 100% happier by the end of it than before - had to buy the album immediately!
go to album -
supported by 12 fans who also own “Hey For Christmas!”
Because I couldn't decide what my favourite track was. It's a beautiful album and every track could be my favourite. However, I am a soppy git so I chose stowaway. Thank you Jon and keep up the good work.
go to album -
supported by 12 fans who also own “Hey For Christmas!”
Dear Sam Sweeney, thank you for your hauntingly beautiful music. Please make this collection an 'LP' soon, Kind regards, BSuhr
go to album -
Ship To Shore
by Richard ThompsonThe legendary Richard Thompson's new solo album exemplifies his many musical paths, from pop and cabaret to jazz to traditional folk.
go to album -
Endurance Soundly Caged
by Stick In The WheelAdapting their calculated standards into a raw, live setting, the radical UK folk duo rework six highlights from their spellbindincatalogue.
go to album -
Wintres Woma
by James ElkingtonOne of Chicago’s most versatile musicians breathes new life into beloved British folk traditions.
go to album -
Needle Pin, Needle Pin
by Jackie Oates and John Spierssupported by 12 fans who also own “Hey For Christmas!”
superb! a great pairing and some beautiful music. thank you!
go to album
