Cherry Ripe
Encyclopedia
Robert Herrick (poet)
Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....
(1591–1674), and music by Charles Edward Horn
Charles Edward Horn
Charles Edward Horn was an English composer and singer. He was born in St Martin-in-the-Fields, London to Charles Frederick Horn and his wife, Diana Dupont. He was the eldest of their seven children. His father taught him music; he also took music lessons briefly in 1808 from singer Venanzio...
(1786–1849) which contains the refrain,
Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,
Ripe I cry,
Full and fair ones
Come and buy.
Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,
Ripe I cry,
Full and fair ones
Come and buy.
An earlier poem by Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion was an English composer, poet and physician. He wrote over a hundred lute songs; masques for dancing, and an authoritative technical treatise on music.-Life:...
(1567–1620) used the same title Cherry Ripe, and has other similarities.
The song's title has been used in other contexts on a number of occasions since. Its tune has also been appropriated for other uses. The song was popular in the 19th century and in the time of World War I.
In popular culture
- The song "Cherry Ripe" is a recurring theme in John Buchan's World War I spy novel Mr StandfastMr StandfastMr Standfast is the third of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan, first published in 1919 by Hodder & Stoughton, London.It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being Greenmantle ; Hannay's first and best-known adventure, The Thirty-Nine Steps , is set in the...
(1919). It identifies Mary Lamington, a young intelligence officer, who falls in love, mutually, with the hero of the novel, general Richard HannayRichard HannayMajor-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, Legion of Honour, is a fictional secret agent created by Scottish novelist John Buchan. In his autobiography, Memory Hold-the-Door, Buchan suggests that the character is based, in part, on Edmund Ironside, from Edinburgh, a spy during the Second Boer...
. - Later, the song is mentioned in Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
's A Child's Christmas in Wales. - It is sung by Maud Chapman (played by Hilda BayleyHilda BayleyHilda Christabel Bailey was a British film actress. In 1922 she appeared in the controversial crime film Cocaine.-Selected filmography:* The Barton Mystery * Carnival * Cocaine * Flames of Passion...
) in the film, Went the Day Well?Went the Day Well?"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
(1942). - In the classic British horror film Night of the DemonNight of the DemonNight of the Demon is a 1957 British horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis. An adaptation of the M. R...
(1957) (released as Curse of the Demon in North America) the medium uses this song to attain a trance. - It is heard in the film, Smiley Gets a Gun (1958), sung by Ruth CracknellRuth CracknellRuth Cracknell AM was an Australian theatre and television character actress who appeared in many comedy roles. She was known variously as "Crackers", "Dame Crackers" and "Dame Ruth" throughout a career spanning 56 years....
's character, Mrs Gaspen. - It was heard in the 1982 musical comedy film Victor Victoria, sung by Julie AndrewsJulie AndrewsDame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
at her character's unsuccessful audition at a nightclub. - The song is sung by Alice in the opening sequence in the 1999 television movieTelevision movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1999 film)Alice in Wonderland is a television film first broadcast in 1999 on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4. It is based upon Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass....
.
Paintings
- In 1879 it was adopted by John Everett MillaisJohn Everett MillaisSir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.-Early life:...
as the title of his immensely popular painting depicting a young girl with cherries. It was based loosely on Joshua ReynoldsJoshua ReynoldsSir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
's portrait of Penelope Boothby. The painting was reproduced in colour as a chromolithograph by the newspaper The GraphicThe GraphicThe Graphic was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Limited....
as a gift with its Christmas edition. The image vastly increased the newspaper's sales.
- A painting by Walter OsborneWalter OsborneWalter Frederick Osborne was an Irish impressionist landscape and portrait painter. Most of his paintings featured women, children, and the elderly as well as rural scenes.-Career:...
(1859–1903) of a cherry seller in Ulster also used the title.