So last night, I decided to read about where 'The Cherry Tree Carol' originates from and, after a bit of reading on the web, discovered that it is both a Christmas carol and children's ballad, and that during the early 15th century, it may've been sung on the Feast of Corpus Christi.
'The Cherry Tree Carol' is said to tell an apocryphal story of Joseph and his pregnant wife, Mary, stopping off at a cherry orchard while on their way to Bethlehem. Here, Mary asks Joseph to pick some cherries, but he angrily tells her that the father of her child should do this. Then, the fetal Jesus commands the tree to lower one of its branches to his mother, at which Joseph repents.
Last night, I also went Youtube surfing to see who else has done a version of 'The Cherry Tree Carol', and the list includes such illustrious names as Mary Hopkin; Joan Baez; Sting; Judy Collins; Peter, Paul and Mary; Joan Osbourne; Nowell Sing We Clear etc.
Alongside Mark Lanegan's cracking version on KEXP (above), I also really like the versions of the song done by Pentangle and Annie Lennox (below):
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