The Welcome Cup

By George Geoffrey of Exeter

Welcome, gentle to our fire,

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Welcome all: King, knave or squire.

Pass that warming mug around.

Warm yourself as you like,

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Tis too cold out for a hike.

Pass that warming mug around.

May this drink warm your heart

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Long after we all must part.

Pass that warming mug around.

I see that you like our cup,

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Perhapse with us you would sup.

Pass that warming mug around.

May this cup ne’er run dry.

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Till ten years after I die.

Pass that warming mug around.

And if you have a song to sing

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Well sing it till the woods do ring..

Pass that warming mug around.

An if you have no tale or song,

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Well just pass that task along.

Pass that warming mug around.

Alas the fire is at an end,

Pass the welcome cup on down,

Fare well to the my new friend.

* This is my entry in the period piece for the 2004 Chalice of the Sun God event at the Barony of Ponte Alto. The paired rhyming pattern and repeat entire lines were often used in period. This particular one was modeled after False Knight Upon the Road, found on a web site Chivalry.com in the Cantaria Pre-1600 section. It references it to a 1904 book which I do not have.