WASSAIL 2024 

Ghost Wassail with Goblin Band

Just round the corner from this gathered crowd, the neon bleached streets glitter with false luxuries. But we, the hungry wassailers are what is catching the eyes of the people tonight. The pull of old harmonies is enough to make wanders stop to hear the tales within them.

The first location of this haunted pilgrimage is honoured with the Malpas Wassail. One of my favourites of the wassail songs. This melody sounds through the frozen streets with warm tones that fill our chests with that vibrating, humming joy, familiar to all folk singers. It feels like the orange glow of a fire, spreading over long-tired limbs. Rowan Gatherer (@rowan_gatherer) held a lamp aloft and, despite his soft speaking voice, his song is heard by all and we join him and the rest of Goblin band (@goblin.band) in this jolly wassail.

We trudge on through the mire to our next location, the Fitzroy tavern where the first swigs of cider were drank. The sweet and sour warmed my insides but made my cold hands colder as we moved outside to sing the second song of the evening. Mataio Austin Dean sang us Babes in the Wood, a sweetly-sad carol of dying children, death being a common theme in folk, this song only added to the meaning of the wassail. Wassailing, although primarily being about the hailing of orchards and a holiday for the orchard workers, is also a festival of charity. Another big theme in many folk songs is class divide. Stories of the lived realities and often, but not always, the struggles of these lives. The Wassail songs almost always reference this in some way.

"Down here in the muddy lane, there sits an old red fox, starving and a shivering and licking his old chops, Bring us out your table and spread it if you please, And give us hungry wassailers a bit of bread and cheese"

-Here we come a-wassailing- trad. The Watersons

"Oh master and missus, are you all within? Pray open the door and let us come in. O master and missus a-sitting by the fire, Pray think on us poor travellers, a-travelling in the mire.

Oh where is the maid with the silver-headed pin To open the door and let us come in? Oh master and missus, it is our desire A good loaf and cheese and a toast by the fire."

-Somerset Wassail- trad.

Are some examples among many, many others. An example of this theme being continued and focused in a modern adaption is the Homeless Wassail, sung by Áine Rowe (@ainerowe), much later in the night. They prefaced this song with:
"Freedom and liberation to the people of Palestine.
Trans Rights Forever.
Fuck the police.
Fuck the King."

"All ye who dine with face aglow In Reginensi Atrio Pray pause awhile at pleasure's door And sup some sorrow with the poor:

Wassail, wassail all over the town Our cup is white and our ale is brown This cold and hunger, pain and care Sweet Jesus Christ, it's hard to bear:"

It is these sometimes subtle and sometimes not so subtle themes of anti-capitalism, anti-establishment and so on, that unite the old folk to the new. 

Our wassail walk continued on through now concrete-covered orchards and ponds, passing the white-stone grandeur of bloomsbury and the imposing temple of colonialism that is the British museum. All this only exacerbating the dramatic opposition of our pilgrimage. We stopped by a few more taverns on our journey including The Green-man, where, if my memory serves me at all, Nick Granata (@nickgranatatata) performed Drive Dull Cares Away.

"Why should the rich despise the poor? Why should the poor repine? When we will all in a few short years In equal friendship join They’re both to blame, they’re all the sameWe are all made of one clay, So while we’re here with our friends so dear We’ll drive dull care away"

Nick has a particularly powerful voice which I first heard at May Day in 2023 where they were supporting Goblin Band with songs performed on strange and fascinating instruments. They sang of weaving women amongst other things that I cannot recall at this particular time. But Nick's performances blow me away without fail and Drive Dull Care away was no exception. The lyrics are deeply moving and at times theological. They continue along this theme of anti-capitalism and how riches never truly make us happy, they do not get us into heaven, they do not make us good people (in fact often the opposite) and the only way to survive this thing of life is with community and the power of human connection.

"Oh, why should we our lot complain Or grieve at our distress? Some think if they could riches gain T’would be true happiness But alas how vain is all their strife Life’s cares it will not allay So while we’re here with our friends so dear We’ll drive dull care away"

++

The next part of this wassail that has stayed with me was under the spire of St Giles. In an entertaining folk-horror spectacle, Rowan stood above the crowd, framed beautifully by the towering church behind his right and the moon behind his left shoulder. Like a time-travelling herald, only a few centuries away from saying "Here-ye", Rowan explained the significance of the site as one of hangings and unjust deaths. This was then honoured by Mataio with a fantastic rendition of "Hangin' Johnny outside of The Angel pub (where many condemned men had their last drink) in honour of all those brutalised by the ruling classes' state violence" - an excerpt from Matiao Austin Dean's written summary of the night (as found on instagram @descend_from_yr_barren_throne). The song was a mixture of funny and sad, as "making light" is another very common theme found in much folk literature and music.

"They call me hangin Johnny, Away boys away! They say I hang for money! So hang, boys, hang ... They say I hung a copper, Away.. I gave him a long dropper So Hang..

They say I hung my granny, Away.. I strung her up so canny!So hang, boys, hang!"

The was a roar of approval at the verse about the copper, as expected and indeed enjoyed. This is where I left the wassail due to being cold and hungry (like a true wassailer I suppose). Among the moments I have talked about, were some other songs and jokes that truly make this folk community as special as it is. Although I am new to the scene and have so far sang a total of three songs (at time of writing) at another magical night, Folk of the Round Table, I am excited to see how much more I have to learn and discover within this collective of kind, open and gentle folk. Wassailing was my first proper introduction to folk as in 2022 I performed Apple Tree Wassail with a childhood friend of mine for my degree performance. Wassailing became the core of my project at art school and became a source of joy and intrigue. To have experienced a wassail like this was perfect as my project was all about how folk looks in the modern world and what its place is and could be as a powerful force for good against the emotional and physical effects that capitalism has on us every day. A massive thank you to all those involved and those who took the time to read this.

If you are interested in hearing my cover of Apple Tree Wassail then you can find it here

Instagram: @caschneider_design