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The Carnal and the Crane
Child Ballad 55

1. As I pass'd by the river side,
    And there as I did reign [run],
In argument I chanced to hear
    A Carnal and a Crane.

2. The Carnal said unto the Crane,
    If all the world should turn,
Before we had the Father,
    But now we have the Son!

3. From whence does the Son come,
    From where and from what place?
He said, In a manger,
    Between an ox and ass.

4. I pray thee, said the Carnal,
    Tell me before thou go,
Was not the mother of Jesus
    Conceived by the Holy Ghost?

5. She was the purest virgin,
    And the cleanest from sin;
She was the handmaid of our Lord
    And Mother of our king.



6. Where is the golden cradle
    That Christ was rocked in?
Where are the silken sheets
    That Jesus was wrapt in?

7. A manger was the cradle
    That Christ was rocked in:
The provender the asses left
    So sweetly he slept on.

8. There was a star in the West land,
    So bright it did appear,
Into King Herod's chamber,
    And where King Herod were.

9. The Wise Men soon espied it,
    And told the King on high
A princely babe was born that night
    No king could e'er destroy.

10. If this be true, King Herod said,
    As thou tellest unto me,
This roasted cock that lies in the dish
    Shall crow full fences three.

11. The cock soon freshly feathered was
    By the work of God's own hand
And then three fences1 crowed he
    In the dish where he did stand
12. Rise up, rise up, you merry men all,
    See that you ready be;
All children under two years old
    Now slain they all shall be.

13. Then Jesus, ah! and Joseph,
    And Mary, that was so pure,
They travell'd into Egypt,
    As you shall find it sure.

14. And when they came to Egypt's land,
    Amongst those fierce wild beasts,
Mary, she being weary,
    Must needs sit down to rest.

15. Come sit thee down, says Jesus,
    Come sit thee down by me,
And thou shalt see how these wild beasts
    Do come and worship me.'

16. First, came the lovely lion,
    Which Jesus's grace did spring,
And of the wild beasts in the field
    The lion shall be king.

17. We'll choose our virtuous princes
    Of birth and high degree,
In every sundry nation,
    Where'er we come and see.

18. Then Jesus, ah! and Joseph,
    And Mary, that was unknown,
They travelled by a husbandman,
    Just while his seed was sown-

19. God speed thee, man! said Jesus,
    Go fetch thy ox and wain,
And carry home thy corn again
    Which thou this day hast sown.'

20. The husbandman fell on his knees,
    Even upon his face:
Long time hast thou been looked for,
    But now thou art come at last.

21. And I myself do now believe
    Thy name is Jesus called;
Redeemer of mankind thou art,
    Though undeserving all.2

22. The truth, man, thou hast spoken,
    Of it thou may'st be sure,
For I must lose my precious blood
    For thee and thousands more.

23. If any one should come this way,
    And enquire for me alone,
Tell them that Jesus passed by
    As thou thy seed did sow.

24. After that there came King Herod,
    With his train so furiously,
Enquiring of the husbandman
    Whether Jesus passed by.

25. Why, the truth it must be spoke,
    And the truth it must be known;
For Jesus passed by this way
    When my seed was sown.

26. But now I have it reapen,
    And some laid on my wain,
Ready to fetch and carry
    Into my barn again.

27. Turn back, says the Captain,
    Your labor and mine's in vain;
It's full three quarters of a year
    Since he his seed has sown.

28. So Herod was deceived,
    By the work of God's own hand,
And further he proceeded
    Into the Holy Land.

29. There's thousands of children young
    Which for his sake did die;
Do not forbid those little ones,
    And do not them deny.

30. The truth now I have spoken,
    And the truth now I have shown;
Even the Blessed-Virgin
    She's now brought forth a son.

 Performed here acapella by the group Artisan.

Harod and the Cock

There was a star in David's land,
So Bright it did appeared;
And in king Herod's bedroom
So bright it did shine there.

The Wise Men they soon spied it,
They told the king on high,
That a princely babe was born that night,
No man could ever destroy.

If this be true, king Herod said,
As thous has told to me ,
This roasted fowl that's in the dish
Shall crow full fences three.*

Well the fowl soon feathered and thrustened well,
By the work of God's own hands,
Three times that roasted cock did crow
In the dish where he did stand.

Rise up, rise up, you merry men all,
     See that you ready be;
     All children under two years old
     Now slain they all shall be.’

   Then Jesus, ah, and Joseph,
     And Mary, that was so pure,
     They travelld into Egypt,
     As you shall find it sure.

    And when they came to Egypt’s land,
     Amongst those fierce wild beasts,
     Mary, she being weary,
     Must needs sit down to rest.

    ‘Come sit thee down,’ says Jesus,
     ‘Come sit thee down by me,
     And thou shalt see how these wild beasts
     Do come and worship me.’

  First came the lovely lion,
     Which Jesus’s grace did bring,
     And of the wild beasts in the field
     The lion shall be king.

   We’ll choose our virtuous princess
     Of birth and high degree,
     In every sundry nation,
     Whereer we come and see.

  Then Jesus, ah, and Joseph,
     And Mary, that was unknown,
     They travelled by a husbandman,
     Just while his seed was sown.

   ‘God speed thee, man,’ said Jesus,
     ‘Go fetch thy ox and wain,
     And carry home thy corn again
     Which thou this day hast sown.’

     The husbandman fell on his knees,
     Even upon his face:
     ‘Long time hast thou been looked for,
     But now thou art come at last.

    ‘And I myself do now believe
     Thy name is Jesus called;
     Redeemer of mankind thou art,
     Though undeserving all.’

   ‘The truth, man, thou hast spoken,
     Of it thou mayst be sure,
     For I must lose my precious blood
     For thee and thousands more.

    ‘If any one should come this way,
     And enquire for me alone,
     Tell them that Jesus passed by
     As thou thy seed did sow.’

 After that there came King Herod,
     With his train so furiously,
     Enquiring of the husbandman
     Whether Jesus passed by.

   ‘Why, the truth it must be spoke,
     And the truth it must be known;
     For Jesus passed by this way
     When my seed was sown.

  ‘But now I have it reapen,
     And some laid on my wain,
     Ready to fetch and carry
     Into my barn again.’

  ‘Turn back,’ says the captain,
     ‘Your labor and mine’s in vain;
     It’s full three quarters of a year
     Since he his seed has sown.’

   So Herod was deceived,
     By the work of God’s own hand,
     And further he proceeded
     Into the Holy Land.


    The truth now I have spoken,
     And the truth now I have shown;
     Even the Blessed Virgin
     She’s now brought forth a son.






King Pharim

King Pharim sat a-musing
And a-musing all alone.
There came a blessed Savior
And all to him unknown.

Saying, “Where did you come from good man,
And where did you then pass?”
“It was out of the land of Egypt,
Between an ox and ass.”

“Well if you've come out of Egypt, man,
One thing I fain would know.
Whether a blessed Savior
Sprang from a Holy Ghost.

For if it is true, is true, good man,
What you've been telling me,
This roasted cock, that's in the dish,
Shall crow full fences three.”

Well the cock soon feathered and he grew soon well,
By the work of God's own hand.
Three times that roasted cock did crow
In the dish where he did stand.

Joseph, Jesus, and Mary
Were traveling further West
When Mary grew a-tired,
She might sit down and rest.

They traveled further and further,
The weather being so warm,
Until they came upon a husbandman
A-sowing of his corn.

“Come husbandman,” cried Jesus,
“Throw all your seed away
And carry home your ripened corn,
That you've been sowing this day.”

By there came King Herod,
With his train so furiously,
Inquiring of the husbandman
Whether Jesus had passed by.

Well the truth it must be spoken,
And the truth it must be known.
For Jesus he passed by this way
Just as my seed was sown.

But now I have it ripened
And some laid in my wain
Ready to fetch and carry
Into my barn again.

“Turn back then,” said the captain.
“Our labors all in vain.
Tis full three quarters of the year
Since he his seed has sown.”

So Herod was deceived
By the work of God's own hand.
No further he proceeded
Into the Holy Land.

This gypsy Christmas Carol was sung to Lucy Broadwood in Sussex and Surrey by a gypsy named Goby in 1893. These lyrics are the original version which appears in her collection English Traditional Songs and Carols (1908).
Broadwood relates the ballad to Child ballas, St. Stephen and Herod and Carnal and the Crane. A manuscript of St. Stephen and Herod is "judge to be of the time of Henry VI." That ballad tells of ST. Sephen, the dish-bearer to King Herod, who, upon seeing the Star of Bethlehem, says that Christ is born. King Herod replies that is as unlikely as the chicken in his dish would rise up and crow - which it then does. The legend appears throughout Europe and is ancient.
The Carnal and the Crane appears in broadsides in the middle of the eighteenth century. The carnal refers to a crow. In a similar tale the crane tells the story of Christs' birth to the crow, relating how the wise men tried to convince Herod Christ was born by the miracle of a roasted bird, which rose fully feathered from the dish.
Gypsies substituted Pharoah for Herod. Since the first appearanc of Gypsies in Europe (around the fifteenth century), the Church spread the legend that the Gypsies came out of Egypt and were cursed becaue they refused to accept the Virgin and Christ. According to Broadwood, Gypsies came to believe they were orginally from Egypt and recognized the pharoah as their former king.










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