Likewise you men and maidens,
Your cattle and your store,
And all that dwells within your gates,
We wish you ten times more.
The lanes are very dirty,
My shoes are very thin;
I have a little pocket,
To put a penny in.
It will be noticed that the “refrain”[54] practically consists of only
two notes, so that it could easily be lengthened at the will of the
singer and new lines inserted. Here are some of the oldest rimes to
which it is sung:--
Soul! Soul! for a soul-cake,
Pray, good missis! a soul-cake,
An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry,
Or any good thing to make us merry--
One for Peter, two for Paul,
And three for Him who made us all.
Up with the kettle and down with the pan
Give us { an answer } and we’ll be gone.[55]
{ our souling }
[54] Mr. Fuller-Maitland gives this as the tune in _English County
Songs_, p. 30. This is a mistake: he only has the “refrain.”
[55] There is always an “up” and “down” in all the versions met with,
but, as pointed out in _Shropshire Folk-Lore_, the original no doubt
was:--
“Up with the ladder and down with the can,”
_i.e._ the ladder is to be raised to the apple-loft and the can taken
down in the cellar for ale or cider.
The following Staffordshire version is valuable for the statement that
they “have all been praying for the soul departed.”
“Soul day, soul day,
We be come a-souling;
Pray, good people, remember the poor,
And give us all a soul-cake.
Soul day, soul day, soul,
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him who made us all.
An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry,
Or any good thing to make us merry.
Soul day, soul day,
We have all been praying
For the soul departed:
So pray, good people, give us a cake,
For we are all poor people,
Well known to you before;
So give us a cake, for charity’s sake,
And our blessing we’ll leave at your door.
Soul! soul! for an apple or two,
If you have no apples, pears will do;
If pears are scarce, then cakes from your pan,
Give us our souling, and we’ll be gone.”[56]
[56] _The Customs, Superstitions and Legends of the County of
Stafford_, by C. H. Poole, p. 34.