27).Įxact origins of the carol are difficult to trace, as it has appeared in collections from many places in England including broadsides – large pieces of paper printed only on one side enabling a publisher to disseminate information quickly. The incipit, “God rest you merry gentlemen,” needs some interpretation in the English of the day, the meaning was “God keep you merry gentlemen” (Dearmer, 1928, p. It has had, however, a mixed acceptance by hymnal editors of other denominations” (Glover, 1994, p. Indeed, hymnologist Ray Glover, commenting on its appearance in the Episcopal Hymnals 19, noted: “This is one of the most popular English traditional carols that entered the musical repertoire of the Episcopal Church. Though most of the remaining stanzas present a straight-forward telling of the Christmas narrative (Luke 2:8-16), the “merry gentlemen” in stanza 1 combined with this traditional last stanza call into question its inclusion in many hymnals. The New Oxford Book of Carols (1992) describes this version of the carol as a “luck-visit song” or a song sung by carolers when visiting a house (Watson, Canterbury, n.p.). This stanza is usually omitted from hymnals, as it speaks more to a domestic Christmas celebration in the dwelling of the Lord of the Manor. 64), echoed softly by a baritone soloist in the final bars: The rousing orchestral and choral climax features the following stanza, a conventional New Year’s salutation (Routley, 1958, p. Stanzas of “God Rest You Merry” are featured throughout the work, sometimes “mashed up” with other carols.
(1912), a collage of Christmas folksongs, most of which were collected in southern England by Vaughan Williams and the famous folksong scholar Cecil Sharp (1859-1924), sometimes called the founding father of the folksong revival in England. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1858) included “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen” in his popular work for baritone, chorus, and orchestra, Fantasia on Christmas Carols Unlike “The First Noel,” this carol features only the adoration of the shepherds in Luke 2 and not the appearance of the Magi in Matthew’s account. Though its roots are somewhat ambiguous, it seems to have been well known by the time Charles Dickens published his famous A Christmas Carol (1843) when Ebenezer Scrooge heard it being sung outside the door of his office on Christmas Eve, he “seized the ruler with such energy of action, that the singer fled in terror” (Watson, Canterbury, n.p.).Įminent British hymnologist Erik Routley (1939-1982) classifies this song and “The First Noel” as “ballad-carol.” Rather than the standard hymn meters – Short (6686), Common (8686), and Long (8888) – “God Rest You merry” employs longer three-line stanzas and a refrain associated with many folk ballads (Routley, 1958, p. While selected Protestant hymnals carry the hymn, its apparent English ethnicity conveyed by its language, melody, and possible social use require adaptations to make it appropriate for liturgy. It is much more likely to be found in Episcopal and Anglican hymnals in the USA, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia, as well as a number of Catholic collections. Indeed, “God rest you merry gentlemen” does not appear in earlier Methodist hymnals. This is a somewhat curious entry in a United Methodist hymnal supplement. To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray. God rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,įor Jesus Christ our Savior was born upon this day,
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