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God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

  God rest you 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,
    For Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.
  In Bethlehem in Jury
  This blessed babe was born,
  And laid within a manger
  Upon this blessed morn;
  The which his mother Mary
  Nothing did take in scorn.
    O tidings of comfort and joy,
    Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.
  From God our Heavenly Father
  A blessed 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 of comfort and joy,
    Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.

  Fear not, then said the Angel,
  Let nothing you affright,
  This day is born a Saviour
  Of virtue, power and might;
  So frequently to vanquish all
  The friends of Satan quite.
    O tidings of comfort and joy,
    Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.

  The Shepherds at those tidings
  Rejoiced much in mind,
  And left their flocks a feeding
  In tempest, storm and wind,
  And went to Bethlehem straightway,
  This blessed babe to find.
    O tidings of comfort and joy,
    Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.

  But when to Bethlehem they came,
  Whereas 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 of comfort and joy,
    Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.

  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.
    O tidings of comfort and joy,
    Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day.

Notes

Composition date is unknown
The lyrical form of this poem is abcbdbeb.



1. For the traditional English melody, see The Cambridge
Hymnal, edited by David Holbrook and Elizabeth Poston
(Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1967), pp. 236-37. The
account of the visit of the shepherds to the Christ child is found in Luke
2.8-20. The history of this carol is in The New Oxford Book of Carols,
ed. Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1992), p. 527.9. Jury: Jewry, the land of the Israelites.

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Comments


  • December 14, 2003
    Edit | Reply
    Wow! I sang this as I read it! Didn't realize there was so much more to this song than what I grew up believing. Thank you for bringing the history and fullness of this classic to me, and others, and Merry Christmas to you all! Love, light and peace!--Kel