Past Three O'Clock
"Past Three O'Clock" (or "Past Three A Clock") is a Christmas carol, loosely based on the traditional cry of the city night watchman:
- Past three a clock,
- And a cold frosty morning,
- Past three a clock;
- Good morrow, masters all!
The words were written by George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934) to the traditional tune "London Waits". Woodward added lines to the traditional refrain in a style characteristic of his delight in archaic poetry. It was published in A Cambridge Carol Book: Being Fifty-two Songs for Christmas, Easter and Other Seasons in 1924.[1]
Numerous variations of the carol include an arrangement by William Llewellyn as a "quodlibet" for choir: London Waits (Past Three O'clock).[2]
Recordings of the carol include those by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge,[3] the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and the Monteverdi Choir.[4]
Popular music artistes who have recorded the carol include Linda Ronstadt on the album A Merry Little Christmas (2000) and Chris Squire (Yes bassist) on the album Chris Squire's Swiss Choir (2007).
See also
References
External links
- The Cambridge Carol-Book: Being Fifty-Two Songs for Easter, Christmas, and Other Seasons (with scans of original)
