The Contest Of The Ivy And The Holly Lyrics

Nay, Ivy, nay, it shall not be, I wis,0
Let Holly have the mastery as the manner is.

1. Holly standeth in the hall fair to behold,
Ivy stands without the door; she is full sore a cold.
Nay, Ivy, nay,

2. Holly and his merry men, they dancen and they sing;
Ivy and her maidens, they weepen and they wring.
Nay, Ivy, nay,

3. Ivy hath a lybe, she caught it with the cold,
So may they all have, that with Ivy hold.
Nay, Ivy, nay,

4. Holly hath berries, as red as any rose,
The foresters, the hunters, keep them from the does.3
Nay, Ivy, nay,

5. Ivy hath berries as black as any sloe,
There come the owl and eat them as she go.
Nay, Ivy, nay,

6. Holly hath birds a full fair flock,
The nightingale, the poppinjay, the gentle laverock.
Nay, Ivy, nay,

7. Good Ivy, [good Ivy,]4 what birds hast thou,
None but the owlet that cries How! How!
Nay, Ivy, nay,