Well hello there and a happy 2006. I hope you all had dandy holidays – I certainly did. I heart family-oriented holidays, and at least in my family there’s no holiday family-er than Christmas.
Looking around Blogistan it looks as if resolution lists are the order of the day, but I’m somewhat disinclined to publish mine (other than, of course, a firm commitment of a post a day for 2006!), so instead I’ll ask for your help with a Jule-ish problem that’s bugged me for the last couple of years.
Specifically, today we’re going to be discussing Christmas carol lyrics. There are two classic Christmas hymns that offer themselves, I think, to different interpretations. Certainly they’ve always caused me some confusion, anyway. Absent any way to actually ask the composer what his intentions were, I’ll do it in the form of a poll (or a “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” Ask The Audience lifeline). I’ll provide the lyric in question and then the various interpretations and you cast your votes. We’ll call the results canonical, so vote carefully. Choice A on each is the way I’ve always interpreted the lyric.
Lyric 1: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Hark, the herald angels sing/glory to the newborn king!
Which of these is the most accurate rewrite?
A – A shepherd says, “Hark! Lookit over there at those angels singing! Praise to this king they’re singing about, whomever he may be!”
B – A shepherd says, “Hark! Lookit over there at those angels singing, ‘Glory to the newborn king!’!”
C – Several angels (some of them possibly but not necessarily named Harold) sing “Hark! Glory to the newborn king!”
Lyric Two: The First Noel
The first Noel/The angels did say/Was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay
Which of these is the most accurate rewrite?
A – Angels, reminiscing sometime after the first Christmas, talk about how the very first Noel they ever Noeled was to some shepherds.
B – The first Noel the angels said was said to a bunch of lying-down shepherds.
Weigh in, cast your votes, help clarify things for my poor widdle brain! Your opportunity for a little civic service this fine rainy January day.