Wassail! Wassail All Over the Town! (Gloucestershire Wassail)
Wassail means "be healthy". It's also a cider drink that's given to carolers.
There's another version of this song called the Wassail Song.
Wassail! Wassail All Over the Town! (Gloucestershire Wassail)
Christmas Carol
1. Wassail, Wassail all over the town!
Our bread it is white and our ale is brown:
Our bowl is made of a maplin tree,
So be my good fellows all -- I'll drink to thee.
2. The wass'ling bowl with a toast within,
Come, fill it up now unto the brim.
Come, fill it up that we all may see,
With the wassailing bowl, I'll drink to thee.
3. Here's to Dobbin, and to his right ear,
God send our master a happy New Year;
A happy New Year as e'er he did see --
With my Wassailing Bowl I drink to thee.
4. Here's to our Smiler, and to her right eye,
God send our mistress a good Christmas pie;
A good Christmas pie as e'er I did see --
With my Wassailing Bowl I drink to thee.
5. Here's to Fillpail, and to her long tail,
God send our master us never may fail
Of a good cup of beer; I pray you draw near,
And then you shall hear our jolly Wassail.
6. And here any maids? I suppose there be some --
Sure they'll not let young men stand on the cold stone;
Sing hey, O maids, come troll back the pin,
And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.
7. Come, butler, come bring us a bowl of the best,
I hope your soul in Heaven will rest.
But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
Then down shall go butler, bowl, and all.
 - English Children's Songs - England - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World
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Notes
Dobbin and Smiler are the names of horses. Fillpail is the name of a cow. Sometimes these names are changed for the names of the carolers' horses and/or cow.
Comments
Here's what Frank Kidson and Mary Neal wrote about this carol in "English Folk-Song and Dance" (1915):
"There are two different types of carol - the religious, dealing with the Holy Nativity, and the festive. 'Here we come a-wassailing' is a folk-carol of the latter kind, and there are many others of this character. One of the best known, which is yet sung traditionally, is the carol which, from some cause, is named as belonging to Gloucestershire-
'Wassail, wassail all over the town,
Our toast it is white, and our ale it is brown,
Our bowl it is made of the maplin tree,
So here's good fellow, I'll drink to thee,' etc.
The Gloucestershire rustics singing the song used formerly to go from house to house bearing a gaily decorated maple-wood potato bowl, which it was expected would be filled with liquor, or in lieu of this a contribution of money placed in the bowl."
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