Chorus:
Here’s God Bless the merry little hop
That brings us all good cheer
For without the merry little hop
We would never know strong beer,
We would never know strong beer.
Here’s praise indeed for the barley malt
From which fine whiskies come
And praise indeed for the sugar in the cane
From which does come brown rum
And praise indeed for the juniper tree
With its berry black as sin
For without the juniper tree
We’d not know fiery gin. (Chorus)
Here’s praise indeed for the golden grape
That hangs upon the vine
For without the golden grape
We’d not know brandy wine
And praise indeed for the apples on the bough
That in the autumn grow
For without the apples on the bough
Sweet cider we’d not know. (Chorus)
And so we’ll raise our glasses high
To admire that amber glow
There’s not a brewer throughout the land
Who’d not have us to know
That the ale he brews is honest and true
The finest and the best
But without the merry little hop
It would never pass the test (Chorus)
And now we’ll put our glasses down
All empty to the dregs
We’ll call on the Landlord good and loud
To tap another keg
And as we watch the liquid flow
And admire that glorious sound
We’ll raise our glasses one more time
And sing another round. (Chorus)
Chorus:
Raise your voices to the sky and let the room resound
And let the room resound, and let the room resound
Come fill your glasses to the brim, let’s drink another round.
Outside the rain is falling hard, it blows an angry storm
But in this place the fire burns bright to keep us cheerful and warm
It’s pity and remorse we feel for those who are elsewhere
If only they could join us here they would be free from care
This company and fellowship brings happiness and mirth
Let’s pray this friendship spreads to all and brings us peace on earth
The song is based on the traditional English carol “Shepherds Arise.”
To make the verses work, the second part drops the first syllable of the first two lines.
The folknik song pages are lovingly produced by John Kelly and Barbara Millikan.
Barbara Millikan produced the song pages for this issue.
If you’d like to submit a song for possible publication,
please send a score, tape/CD or (preferably) both to —
Barbara Millikan:
John Kelly,
Copyright for all songs published on this page remains with the authors.
