Yorkshire Dialect Poems (1673-1915) and traditional poems

Cleveland Christmas Song(1)

     God rist you merry, gentlemen,
        Let nothin' you dismay,
     Remember Christ oor Saviour
        Was born o' Kessmas day,
     To seave wer sowls fra Sattan's power;
        Lang taam we've gean astray.
           This brings tidin's o' comfort an' joy.

     Noo stright they went to Bethlehem,
        Wheer oor sweet Saviour lay;
     They fan' him iv a manger,
        Wheer oxen fed on hay,
     To seave wer sowls fra Sattan's power;
        Lang taam we've gean astray.
           This brings tidin's o' comfort an' joy.

     God bliss t' maister o' this hoose,
        An' t' mistress also,
     An' all your laatle childeren
        That roond your teable go;
     An' all your kith an' kindered,
        That dwell beath far an' near;
     An' I wish you a Merry Kessamas
        An' a Happy New Year.

     1. From Mrs. Tweddell's Rhymes and Sketches, p. 14.