By Tabitha Benedict
This delightful carol originated in a Cornwall village in the early 1900’s. It is known as the “Sans Day Carol”, or also the “St. Day Carol”, after the Cornish village of St. Day. This carol celebrates the birth of Christ, who is symbolically depicted through the holly. Each color of berry that is mentioned represents the beauty and fulfillment of Christ. The white berry represents His purity while the green berry symbolizes the life He lived on earth in perfect obedience. The black berry represents the death He endured upon the cross, while the red berry symbolizes His blood that He shed so that all who believe may be saved.
1. Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,
And Mary bore Jesus, who’s wrapped up in silk.
Chorus:
And Mary bore Jesus our Savior for to be,
And the first tree that’s in the greenwood, it was the holly.
Holly! Holly!
And the first tree that’s in the greenwood, it was the holly!
2. Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross. (Chorus)
3. Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all. (Chorus)
4. Now the holly bears a berry, as blood is it red,
We trust in our Savior, who rose from the dead. (Chorus)
About the Musician
Hailing from County Armagh, Northern Ireland, Tabitha Benedict could easily be mistaken for American-born-and-raised taking up banjo at age 12, but Tabitha has merely caught a musical wind from the west and made it her own. Tabitha has been nominated for the Instrumentalist of the Year at the IBMA Momentum awards in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2018. Tabitha was one of 16 chosen in 2018 and 2019 to attend the Savannah Acoustic Music Seminar, studying with world-class artists such as Julian Lage, Mike Marshall and Bryan Sutton and Darrel Scott. She can be heard performing with her two brothers in the Northern Irish band Cup O’Joe, and all-female Anglo-Irish Bluegrass Band Midnight Skyracer as well as with her husband David Benedict in their Folk/Bluegrass duo The Foreign Landers.
Foreign Landers — www.theforeignlanders.com/
Cup O’Joe — www.cupojoemusic.com
Tabitha Benedict — www.tabithabenedictmusic.com