Come all you worthy gentlemen, sometimes referred to as the Somerset Carol, is an English folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 carol

Carol (music)

A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character....

 of unknown authorship. It was collected from a Mr. Rapsey, of Bridgwater

Bridgwater

Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...

 during the English Folk-song revival at the turn of the 20th century by Cecil Sharp

Cecil Sharp

Cecil James Sharp was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early 20th century, and many of England's traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them.-Early life:Sharp was born in Camberwell, London, the eldest son of...

. It was first published in 1905 in Sharp and Marson's Folk songs from Somerset.

The singer told Cecil Sharp that the carol had been taught to him by his mother and that, in company with other children, he used to sing it in the streets of Bridgwater at Christmas time, thus fitting it in with the Wassail

Wassail

The word Wassail refers to several related traditions; first and foremost wassailing is an ancient southern English tradition that is performed with the intention of ensuring a good crop of cider apples for the next year's harvest...

 tradition. To Sharp's knowledge, the carol had not been recorded or printed until it was noted at the turn of the 20th century. The carol was later used by Sharp's friend and fellow collector, Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...

, in his 1912 Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Fantasia on Christmas Carols is a 1912 work for baritone, chorus, and orchestra by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. First performed at the 1912 Three Choirs Festival at Hereford Cathedral, the work is a single movement of roughly twelve minutes which consists of the English folk carols...

.