Everything about God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen totally explained
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (or
God rest you merry, gentlemen) is a traditional
Christmas carol. The tune to which it's generally sung is usually in the key of E minor and is in
common time or
cut time. It seems to have no name but is generally indicated as
English traditional and is amenable to arrangement into a wide variety of musical styles.
History
"Like so many early Christmas songs, this carol was written as a direct reaction to the music of the fifteenth century church," writes Ace Collins, in
Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas. It was the most popular of the early carols, sung for centuries before being published in Britain in 1833, when it appeared in
Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, a collection of seasonal carols gathered by
William B. Sandys, though its
incipit was in
William Hone's "List of Christmas carols now annually printed" in
Ancient Mysteries Described, 1823. The author is unknown.
This is the carol of
Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol, 1843: "...at the first sound of — "God bless you merry, gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!"— Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost."
This carol also features in the second movement of the
Carol Symphony by
Victor Hely-Hutchinson.
Lyrics
The carol exists in a wide variety of versions, and even with differing numbers of verses. So no attempt is made here to detail the variants; rather the reader is referred to the
Hymns and Carols of Christmas
analysis of a nine-verse version.
In the
UK, the
de facto baseline reference version is that adopted by
Carols for Choirs,
OUP, (1961):
1. God rest1 you2 merry, gentlemen, » Let nothing you dismay,
For Jesus Christ our Saviour » Was born upon this day,
To save us all from Satan's power » When we were gone astray:
:O tidings of comfort and joy, » :comfort and joy,
:O tidings of comfort and joy. »
2. From God our heavenly Father » A blessèd angel came,
And unto certain shepherds » Brought tidings of the same,
How that in Bethlehem was born » The Son of God by name:
:O tidings ... »
3. The shepherds at those tidings » Rejoicèd much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding » In tempest, storm and wind,
And went to Bethlehem straightway, » This blessèd Babe to find:
:O tidings ... »
4. But when to Bethlehem they came, » Whereat this Infant lay,
They found Him in a manger, » Where oxen feed on hay;
His mother Mary kneeling, » Unto the Lord did pray:
:O tidings ... »
5. Now to the Lord sing praises, » All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood » Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas » All others doth deface:3
:O tidings ...
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Notes:
» 1Subjunctive mood: should be read to mean "may God rest you merrily, gentlemen."
» 2Even in this traditionally-based publication, the opening line is "you", not the
archaic "ye".
» 3The carol's use of
deface is
Middle English, now archaic, to be understood not as spoil or vandalise but as
efface (outshine, eclipse). Many subsequent versions, such as the
New English Hymnal of 1986, make this substitution.
20th Century
2001 – .38 Special – A Wild-Eyed Christmas Night
2002 – Bright Eyes – A Christmas Album
2002 – The Irish Rovers – Songs_of_Christmas
2003 – Carly Simon – Christmas Is Almost Here Again
2003 – Faithbomb –
2003 – Jethro Tull – The Jethro Tull Christmas Album
2003 – Kekal –
2004 – Barenaked Ladies – Barenaked for the Holidays
2004 – Angela Chang – Fable
2005 – Brian Wilson – What I Really Want for Christmas
2005 – Moya Brennan – An Irish Christmas
2005 – Pedro the Lion – God rest ye Merry Gentlemen 7"
2005 – Boyz II Men – Winter/Reflections
2005 – Kate and Anna McGarrigle - The McGarrigle Christmas Hour
2005 – Kevin Max – Holy Night
2005 – MercyMe – The Christmas Sessions
2006 – Aimee Mann – One More Drifter in the Snow
2006 – Aly & AJ – Acoustic Hearts of Winter
2006 – Maddy Prior – An Evening of Carols and Capers
2006 – The Brew Dogs – A Brew Dog Christmas (Egg Dog)
2006 – Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band – BAH, HUMDUCK!
2007 – Toby Keith – A Classic Christmas
2007 – Jars of Clay – Christmas Songs
2007 – Christmas at the Devil's House –
2007 – Brian Setzer Orchestra – Wolfgang's Big Night Out as Take A Break Guys
2007 – The Legendary Shack Shakers – Oh Santa! New and Used Christmas Classics from Yep Roc
Further Information
Get more info on 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'.
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