One of the oldest ballads still popular around Christmastime is “The Cherry Tree Carol.” The text of the song was known in the 1400s and it is listed as #54 in Francis James Child’s late 1800s collection of English and Scottish Popular Ballads. The tune I sing here was recorded by folklorists in Kentucky in the 1930s. The story is unorthodox, but I like how the song depicts the tree as responsive and an integral part of our universe.