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The First Noel Lyrics
The first 'Noel!' the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
They all looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east, beyond them far;
Over there it did both stop and stay,
Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
Then entered in those wise men three,
Full reverently upon their knee,
And offered there, in christ presence,
Both gold and myrrh, and frankincense.
Noel! noel! noel! noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
Nowel! Noel! Noel! Noel!
Born is the King of Israel!
The First Nowell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The First Nowell" (also called "The First Noël") is a traditional English Christmas carol, most likely from the 16th or 17th century, but possibly dating from as early as the 13th century. In its current form it is of Cornish origin, and it was first published in Some Ancient Christmas Carols (1823) and Gilbert and Sandys Christmas Carols (1833), edited by William B. Sandys and arranged, edited and extra lyrics written by Davies Gilbert. The melody is unusual among English folk melodies in that it consists of essentially the same musical phrase repeated three times, and ending on the third of the scale. It is thought to be a corruption of an earlier melody sung in a church gallery setting; a conjectural reconstruction of the earlier version can be found in the New Oxford Book of Carols (1992, ISBN 0193533235).
An orchestral arrangement, by Victor Hely-Hutchinson from his Carol Symphony, was memorably used as the theme to the BBC adaptation of John Masefield's seasonal fantasy adventure, The Box of Delights.
The word Nowell[1] comes from the French word Noël meaning "Christmas", from the Latin word natalis ("birth"). It may also be from the Gaulish words "noio" or "neu" meaning "new" and "helle" meaning "light" referring to the winter solstice when sunlight begins overtaking darkness.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Noel
