[Verse 1]
Picture old England, centuries back,
Candles lit on All Souls' night,
Children knocking with an empty sack,
Singing verses for a bite.
"A soul cake, a soul cake,
Have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul cake!"
Trade a hymn for a currant bun,
Pray for souls till the errand's done.
[Chorus]
That's guising, that's souling,
Doorstep tunes come strolling
Through the chill of autumn air,
A verse for a treat, so fair.
From Ireland's hills to Scotland's shore,
They sang it at every door,
(Soul cake! Soul cake!)
Sang it at every door.
[Verse 2]
Now picture a guiser, turnip-grin,
Lantern carved with a crooked eye,
Not just singing like souls within,
They'd crack a joke or let a fiddle fly.
Disguise to fool a wandering ghost,
Or just to vanish into Halloween's host,
No treat was given, you paid your toll —
A riddle, a dance, a story told.
[Chorus]
That's guising, that's souling,
Doorstep tunes come strolling
Through the chill of autumn air,
A verse for a treat, so fair.
From Ireland's hills to Scotland's shore,
They sang it at every door,
(Soul cake! Soul cake!)
Sang it at every door.
[Verse 3]
Across the water the custom sailed,
Through Scottish, Irish, English hands,
And here in Canada the tale gets detailed —
A prairie paper, nineteen twenty-seven,
An Alberta page in black and white
First put "trick or treat" down for Halloween night.
Down south the States were catching on too,
Both sides borrowed what the old world knew.
[Bridge]
Now historians argue the how and when,
No single story, no single pen —
Was it the soul cake, the guiser's rhyme,
That turned to candy over time?
Some of it's legend, some of it's true,
The record's patchy, the threads askew,
But one thing's certain as October frost:
The verse got traded, the singing got lost.
[Verse 4]
By the thirties and forties the phrase caught fire,
From Ontario stoops to a Vermont yard,
No song was needed, no verse, no choir,
Just three little words and the treating got easy.
Sugar came back once the wartime ceased,
And costumed kids multiplied like a feast,
The ancient bargain stayed the same —
Disguise, then knock, then call out the name!
[Chorus]
That's guising, that's souling,
History still controlling
Every porch light down the street,
Every call of "trick or treat!"
From Ireland's hills to a Canuck shore,
We're still singing at the door,
(Trick or treat! Trick or treat!)
Still knocking at the door.
[Outro]
So next time you're caroling door to door,
Remember the soulers who came before,
The guisers joking in lantern light,
Gave trick-or-treat its shape tonight.