Down in Yon Forest

"Down in Yon Forest" (or "Down in Yon Forrest"), also known as "All Bells in Paradise" and "Castleton Carol,"[1] is a traditional English Christmas carol dating to the Renaissance era, ultimately deriving from the anonymous Middle English poem known today as the Corpus Christi Carol.[2] The song was originally associated with Good Friday or the Corpus Christi Feast rather than Christmas, but some more recent variants have additional verses which reference Christmas.[2] It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 1523.

Multiple audio recordings have been made of the song, particularly in the town of Casteton, Derbyshire, England,[3][4] where the famous composer and folk song collector Ralph Vaughan Williams encountered and transcribed a version sung by a Mr. J Hall in 1908.[5] Like many English folk songs, it seems to have naturally made its way to the United States, where several traditional singers including Jean Ritchie have been recorded singing the song.[6]

The carol has been arranged in modern English by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Nicholas Maw, John Jacob Niles and John Rutter, among others. It has been recorded by artists including Joan Baez (on Noël), Martyn Bates with Max Eastley, Shirley Collins, The Albion Band, Bruce Cockburn (on Christmas), Kemper Crabb, Burl Ives (on Christmas Day in the Morning), John McCutcheon, Jean Ritchie (on Carols for All Seasons), Bob Rowe, Andreas Scholl, Steeleye Span (on Winter), Wovenhand (on Consider the Birds), Mark Lanegan, and the choir of Clare College, Cambridge.

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.

References
  1. "Down in Yon Forest / All Bells in Paradise / Castleton Carol (Roud 1523)". mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  2. historienerrant (2011-12-23). ""Down In Yon Forest" – A song about Christmas, Easter and, probably, the Holy Grail…". L'Historien Errant. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  3. "Down in Yon Forest (Roud Folksong Index S340259)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  4. "Down in Yon Forest (Roud Folksong Index S380763)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  5. "Down In Yon Forest (Ralph Vaughan Williams Manuscript Collection (at British Library) RVW2/1/91)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  6. "Down in Yon Forest (Roud Folksong Index S304381)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-09-29.



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