1. Or: Fill the mead cup, drain the barrel. Return

2. Or: Troll the ancient Yuletide carol. Return

3. Or: See the flowing bowl before us. Return

4. Or: While I tell of Yuletide treasure, or of beauty's treasure, Return

5. Or: Hail the new year, lads and lasses, Return

6. Or: Sing we joyously together, or Laughing, quaffing all together. Return

Notes:

Perhaps the epitome of songs which celebrate the holiday of Christmas (as opposed to the Holy Day), this well-known carol is among the most well known, although, oddly, rarely recorded. In some versions, it barely acknowledges which holiday is being celebrated, but in all versions this is clearly a song of joyous celebration of the season, employing such phrases as "gay apparel," "merry measure," "joyous," and "heedless," plus the whimsical "Fa la la la la, la la la la" refrain. He also notes that the lyrics and music resemble songs from the 16^th and early 17^th century, especially the madrigals fashionable in the 16^th century in England.

The tune, although not the words, appear to come from Wales, possibly in the 16^th century, and form a part of the ‘Nos Galan’ (‘New Year’s Eve’). According to Studwell, the nonsense word repetition (Fa la la la la ... ) was a popular device used in the Middle Ages. The only example that I've come across was another song in McCaskey's Franklin Square Song Collection, "The Alpine Horn" (see right).

According to Keyte and Parrott, the tune belongs to the canu penillion tradition. Here, the dancers would dance in a ring around a harpist. The verses would be extemporized, and a participant would drop out when he or she would fail to sing a new verse. Originally, the harpist would play the "answering bars" (Fa la la la la la, etc.), but these nonsense syllables were substituted when harpers began to disappear.

The tune popularity by the 18th century is demonstrated by the incorporation by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) in a duet for violin and piano (I have been unable to locate the correct title).

The original appearance is said to be from two editions of Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards by Edward Jones, a harpist (London: 1784, 1794.) The English translation apparently first appeared in 1881 in The Franklin Square Song Collection edited by John Piersol (J. P.) McCaskey (see above). The English lyrics bare almost no relation to the Welsh, according to most sources, but are evocative of pagan traditions, such as "Yule logs" and homes decorated with holly. Keyte and Parrott have both the Welsh lyrics, and a free translation by John Oxenford in The New Oxford Book of Carols (pp. 559-562, with notes).

Note that these lyrics first appeared during a time when Victorian-era Americans were enthusiastically celebrating the Christmas traditions of their English forebearers. Dickens' A Christmas Carol was immensely popular in America, as were other works celebrating English Christmas traditions, such as those recalled by Washington Irving in Old Christmas. There have been many variations in the lyrics.

Arrangements for choirs can be found in the following:

• Willcocks & Rutter, Carols for Choirs 2: Fifty Carols For Christmas and Advent. London: Oxford University Press, 1970, #7.
• Willcocks and Rutter, Carols for Choirs 3. Carols for Choirs. London: Oxford University Press, 1978, #15.
• Willcocks and Rutter, Carols for Choirs 4: Fifty Carols for Sopranos and Altos. London: Oxford University Press, 1980, #7.
• Willcocks and Rutter, 100 Carols for Choirs. London: Oxford University Press, 1987, #16.

It has also been the subject of many parodies, many of which cannot be reproduced on this child-safe site. Here are a few which are, to the best of my recollection, safe for all:

• Deck The Hall – Latin Translation: Aquafolia Ornatis, Translated by Stanford Miller

• Deck The Hall (Deck the Hall of Fame, For Pittsburgh Fans – Humor; opens in a new window at RabidFans.com, Copyright 1998 Dale & Pru Palecek))

• Deck The Hall (Deck the Hall – Politically Correct Version – Humor)

• Deck The Hall (Deck the Hall With Championship Banners, For Chicago Fans – Humor; opens in a new window at RabidFans.com, Copyright 1998 Dale & Pru Palecek)

• Deck The Hall (Deck the Labs – Humor)

• Deck The Hall (Deck Your Head, For Green Bay Fans – Humor; opens in a new window at RabidFans.com, Copyright 1997 Dale & Pru Palecek)

• Deck The Hall (Fill the Bowls – Humor)

• Deck The Hall (Walt Kelly's Pogo; opens at an external site in a new window)

• Deck The Hall (Wrap Your Gift – Humor)

• Deck The Hall (Wreck the Malls – Humor from Bob Rivers, Bob Rivers’ Twisted Tunes)

Editor's Note:

Instrumental sheet music to this and 12 other carols may be downloaded from Sally DeFord Music, http://www.defordmusic.com/carolsforpiano.htm (site accessed September 30, 2006). An MP3 of this arrangement is also available at that page.

Sources:

• Ian Bradley, The Penguin Book of Carols. London: Penguin, 1999.
• Earthly Delights: Xmas Carols
• William C. Egan, The History of Carols
• Robert Joseph, The Christmas Book. New York: McAfee Books, 1978.
• Keyte and Parrott, eds., The New Oxford Book of Carols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
• J. P. McCaskey, ed., Franklin Square Song Collection, No. 1. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1881.
• Erik Routley, University Carol Book. Brighton: H. Freeman & Co., 1961, #93.
• William L. Simon, ed., The Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Songbook. Pleasantville, NY: Readers Digest Association, revised 2003.
• William Studwell, The Christmas Carol Reader. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1995.