Soul cake

The following song is called "Soul Cake" and it is from British rock musician Sting's 2009 album.

A Soul Cake is a small round cake, like a biscuit, which is traditionally made for All Souls’ Day (the 2nd November) to celebrate the dead. These plain cakes, often called souls, were given out to the “soulers” children and the poor, who went from door to door during this period saying prayers and singing psalms and songs for the dead.

Traditionally each cake eaten represented a soul being freed from Purgatory. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes is often seen as the origin of modern day Trick or Treating, which now falls on Halloween(two days before All Souls’ Day). The tradition of ‘souling’ and giving out Soul Cakes on All Soul’s Day originated in Britain and Ireland hundreds of years ago, from giving out bread on All Souls’ Day during the Middle Ages.

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,

any good thing to make us all merry,

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,

any good thing to make us all merry,

God bless the master of this house, and the mistress also.

And all the little children that round your table grow.

The cattle in your stable and the dog by your front door.

And all that dwell within your gates

we wish you ten times more.

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,

any good thing to make us all merry,

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.

Go down into the cellar and see what you can find.

If the barrels are not empty we hope you will be kind.

We hope you will be kind with your apple and strawber’

For we’ll come no more a ‘soalin’ till Xmas time next year.

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,

any good thing to make us all merry,

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.

I have a little pocket to put a penny in.

If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’ penny will do.

If you haven’t got a ha’ penny then God bless you.

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,

any good thing to make us all merry,

A soul, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.

One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.