Today is A Christmas Carol Day. 10 things you might not know about God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen:
- God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen is a traditional English carol which dates back to the 15th century. It was already several hundred years old when it was first published in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys, in 1833.
- The arrangement we sing today was by Sir John Stainer and the Reverend H.R. Bramley.
- It's sometimes sung as God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen to give it an archaic feel. However, according to Wikipedia, "ye" would never have been correct, even in the 15th century, because it's only ever a subjective (nominative) pronoun and in the song, it's an objective (accusative) pronoun.
- A lot of people have cottoned on to the idea that the word "merry" didn't mean "happy and jolly" but "mighty and strong". They claim the word in the expressions Robin Hood's "Merry Men" or "Merry England" refers to might. However, the Oxford English Dictionary gives no reference at all to the word merry ever meaning mighty, only ever "pleasant, bountiful or prosperous". Not that England is even that, let alone mighty, these days.
- The word "rest" has changed its meaning as well. Today it means having some time off and putting your feet up, but back then, it meant to remain. The same root, I'm guessing, as the French verb "rester". So the first line, translated into modern English is something like "May God keep you happy, guys!" So the comma should be after the word "merry" and not after "you" or "ye".
- One possible explanation of how the song became popular was that it was sung by town and city watchmen. In the 15th century many places had walls and gates to keep intruders out and these were guarded by watchmen, especially at night. They would likely have used loud instruments like horns to signal danger. In times when there was no danger they may well have used the instruments to make Music, perhaps repeating songs by rote that they'd heard when the travelling minstrels were in town. Eventually, the watchmen were doubling up as a town band to entertain visiting dignitaries.
- Some versions have as many as nine verses, but today, we generally just sing three.
- One aspect of the lyrics which has been known to have pedants tearing their hair out is the rhyming in one verse of "mind" and "wind". Needless to say that arises from the evolution of the English language as well, as the pronunciation of words as well as their meanings, have changed since the 15th century. Back then, wind was pronounced as rhyming with find, or mind. Some performers use the old pronunciation of wind, others don't.
- The song had been recorded countless times. Among those artists who have scored hits with it are Nancy Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Neil Diamond, Pentatonix, Mariah Carey, Garth Brooks, The Glee Cast, Barenaked Ladies and Annie Lennox. There have been spoof versions, too, including The Restroom Door Said Gentlemen by Bob Rivers, from his Twisted Christmas album. This is a tale of a man who finds himself in the ladies toilet after a prankster switches the signs.
- It could be argued that God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen is the carol referred to in the title of the story by Charles Dickens. It is the only carol which gets mentioned in the story: "... 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."
NEW!!
The Power of Love
Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic ordering and the significance of chance encounters. She believes there's a spiritual explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.
A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.
Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.
When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.
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