![]() ![]() The melody and lyrics were first published together in 1833 in a collection titled, “Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern,” compiled by William Sandys. The first printed version of the song appeared in 1760-when it is referred to as “Tidings of Comfort and Joy.” The melody was first in print in 1829, though it was likely used long before that. The nightwatchmen are said to have sung “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” as they walked the streets of London. So, the faithful counteracted this tone by singing more uplifting songs in the streets. Consequentially, most church goers did not like the religious songs of the period. In the 15th Century, church music was typically sung in Latin and was dark and rather somber. This English carol has undergone many changes over the years. But that's the men for you.“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is one of the oldest existing Christmas carols. I told him I wasn't in the habit of fertilizing my back yard with cream. He upsot a churnful of cream in the back yard-and was just as cool as a cowcumber over it-laughed and said it was good for the land. I put up with him till harvest was in, and then one day my patience give out. When it is encountered in literature, it is usually as part of character speech: Upsot is a rare dialectical past participial form of upset that was probably chosen for its rhyme with "lot." Despite its use in "Jingle Bells," upsot is entered in very few dictionaries. The lesser-sung later verses are ripe with unusually dark narrative, including the sleigh becoming overturned and the narrator's wistful advice, voiced in the imperative, to "go it while you're young." ![]() It has a long tradition as a staple of schoolchildren, who are often taught nothing beyond the innocuous first verse. "Jingle Bells" is one of the most popular holiday tunes, written in 1850 by James Lord Pierpont, the uncle of financier J. The word's Christmas pedigree precedes its use in song however it occurs in Luke 2:10 of the King James Bible (in a line made popular to many generations of children by Linus Van Pelt), when the angel delivers the news of the arrival of the Savior: "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Although there is nothing specific in the meaning or origin of tiding that pertains to Christmas (it derives via Middle English from Old English and relates to betide, meaning "to happen especially by fate"), we most often see the word in contexts pertaining to the Christmas season. Tiding is defined as a piece of news, and is often found in the plural, modified by good or glad. Tidings appears in a number of Christmas carols in addition to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," we also find it in "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," which speaks of "tidings of comfort and joy." We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year Good tidings we bring to you and your kin ![]() With that interpretation, "gentlemen" becomes an instance of direct address: "be well and happy, Gentlemen." But "god rest you merry" was, at the time the text was written, an established expression of good wishes in its own right: The first line of this very old (15th century, by some estimates) song has a number of elements that typically throw listeners for a loop in addition to the ambiguity of the verb rest, there's the swapping out of "you" for the ecclesiastical pronoun "ye" in some versions, as well as inconsistency with regard to where the comma is placed.īecause some texts place the comma before "merry," some readers or listeners interpret the adjective as modifying "gentlemen," leaving rest as a transitive verb with you as its object (for a phrasing similar to "God rest your soul" or "God bless you"). ![]()
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