2021 – God Give Ye Merry Christmas Tide

Well, what can I say… I’m a sucker for Dickensian era sounding Christmas carols, full of minor keys and anti-Scroogey lyrics. So this year’s Carol seems to be some sort of forgotten ancestor (or progeny?) of God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman, of course. The melody, too, is somehow inescapably derivative. The words were collected by Reverend Charles Lewis Hutchins. Many of my discarded lyrics are found on the ever useful website Hymns and Carols of Christmas.

Douglas D. Anderson, the creator of that site, wrote:

“[Rev. Hutchins’] largest volume was Carols Old and Carols New: For Use At Christmas and Other Seasons of the Christian Year (Boston: Parish Choir, 1916). It was 659 pages in length and contained 751 carols, about 63% were for Christmas (approximately 470). The Christmas carols were international in scope, and included both worldwide favorites and uncommon or unique compositions. It remains today the largest collection of carols ever printed in the English language.”

Maybe I can rival that someday. In the meantime, put on your top hat, and enjoy!

God-Give-Ye-Merry-Christmas-Tide