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The Mistress’s Health

[ Roud 310 ; Ballad Index BrMa140 ; Wiltshire 336 , 337 , 1039 ; Folkinfo 816 , 824 ; DT MILLDEE3 ; trad.]

Lucy Broadwood, J.A. Fuller Maitland: English County Songs Paul and Liz Davenport: Down Yorkshire Lanes Inglis Gundry: Canow Kernow Alan Helsdon: Vaughan Williams in Norfolk Volume 2 Maud Karpeles: Cecil Sharp’s Collection of English Folk Songs William Henry Long: A Dictionary of the Isle of Wight Dialect Roy Palmer: Everyman’s Book of English Country Songs

The Mistress’s Health is a harvest-home toast from Lucy Broadwood and J.A. Fuller Maitland’s book English County Songs, Leadenhall Press, London, 1893. The words and tune were collected from gamekeeper John Burberry of Sussex in September 1892.

The Wilson Family sang this Mistress’s Health and another Mistress’ Health (Roud 21096) in 1991 on their Harbourtown album The Wilson Family Album.

Magpie Lane sang The Mistress’s Health in 1994 on their CD Speed the Plough. A live recording of them singing Carter’s Health and Mistress’s Health from 21 September 2013 at St Mary’s Church, Bampton, Oxfordshire was Andy Turner’s 11 October 2014 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week. They noted:

From the singing of John Burberry in Sussex. The collector, Lucy Broadwood, noted that it was performed at harvest homes; on the words “O is she so?” the singers would carry candles up to the mistress, “as if to investigate her daims to be ‘the fairest of twenty’”.

Keith Kendrick sang The Harvest Supper Song in 2003 on his WildGoose album Well Seasoned. He noted:

Can’t have a seasonal collection without a Harvest song eh? ’Ere y’are then!

See also Mistress’ Health (Roud 21096).

Lyrics

Magpie Lane sing The Mistress’s Health

Here’s a health unto the mistress, the fairest of twenty
O is she so, is she so, is she so?
Is your glass full, my boys, or is your glass empty?
Come let us know, let us know, let us know.
We’ll drink him out so deep and we’ll sing ourselves to sleep,
And sing ho and sing ho,and sing ho!