The Hymns and Carols of Christmas

Now Lat Vs Sing With Joy And Myrth

For Christmas

Middle English before 1567

Source: John Wedderburn, A Compendious Book of Godly and Spiritual Songs Commonly Known as 'The Gude and Godlie Ballatis.' Reprinted from the Edition of 1567, A. F. Mitchell, ed. (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1897), p. 75-77.

NOW lat vs sing with joy and myrth,
In honour of our Lordis byrth.
For his lufe and humanitie,
Quha gaif himself for vs to die.

Be Adame we war all forlorne,
Bot now Christ Jesus till vs is borne,
Hes fred vs fra Captiuitie,
And vincust hes our Ennemie.

Quhen he was borne nane did him snib,
To ly rycht law in till ane Crib:
Ane Ox, ane Asse, rycht tenderlie
Refrescheit his humanitie.

His Godheid mysteris na support,
For it was full of all confort,
Quhilk equal is in all degre,
Unto his Fatheris Maiestie.

The Angellis sang with merynes,
Unto the Hyrdis mair and les,
And bade thame of gude confort be,
For Christis new Natiuitie.

For ze war all at Goddis horne ;
This Babe, to zow that now is borne.
Sail mak zow saif, and for zow die,
And zow restoir to libertie.

This Babe for zow did sched his blude,
And tholit dede, vpon the Rude :
And for his greit humanitie,
Exaltit is his Maiestie.

And now he is our Aduocate,
Prayand for vs baith air and lait:
This can the Scripture verifie,
In sa far as ane man is he.

Thairfoir all tyde, tyme and houre,
Pas vnto him as Mediatour
Betuix the Fatheris wraith and the,
Of Sin gif thou wald clengeit be.

For he hes promeist with his hart,
To all Sinnaris that will reuart,
And fra thair sinful lyfe will fle,
Sail Ring with him Etemallie.

To God the Father mot be gloir,
And als to Christ for euer moir,
The haly Gaist mot blissit be,
Wirkar of this Natiuitie.

F I N I S.

Note:

The editor of this volume, A. F. Mitchell, had this note concerning this song at pp. 254-255:

Pp. 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 83.—The "Ballatis" and "Carrells" on these pages I have not, save in two or three instances, succeeded in tracing to German or Danish sources; but I am not yet quite without hope that some younger and more patient investigator may be able to trace several more of them. They evidently contain a second cycle of Christmas and Easter hymns. Several of the former seem to me to bear affinity to the stanza and general contents of the hymns of the Bohemian Weisse and Horn on the birth of Christ, as "We suld into remembrance," "The Grace of God appeiris now," and especially " Now lat vs sing with joy and myrth." The carol " Hay Zule [Zule],1 now sing and mak myrth," changed in the three later editions of the book into " Hay, let us sing and mak greit myrth," has considerable resemblance to a hymn in the Leipsig 'Psalmen und Geistliche Lieder' of 1537, though not exactly in the same stanza:—

"Lobt Gott O lieben Christen
Singet ihm mit Psalmisten
     ein new fröhlich lied;
Macht Gott mitt uns
     einen ewigen fried.

Der Son Gottes ist nun kommen
Hat unser fleisch angenommen
Ist hie erschienen
Uns zu versöhnen
und ewige clarbeit zu verdienen.

Er ist kommen uns zu hailen
und sein gut mit uns zu thailen,
Uns zu entbinden
Von allen stinden
Wie uns sein Engel fröhlich verkunden."

Ritson (vol. i. p. 140) gives a Christmas carol with the title and refrain, "Wolcum Yol, wolcum Yol." In Stationers' Hall Register, under the years 1562-63, is the following entry: " Christenmas Carrols auctorysshed by my Lord of London," f. 86b.

"Of thingis twa, I pray thé, Lord," is founded on Agur's prayer in Proverbs, ch. xxx. vv. 7, 8, 9, and bears considerable resemblance to vv. 1, 3, 4, 5 of a German hymn also founded on these verses, and beginning, "Zwey ding, O Herr, ich bitt von dir," which is No. 466 in Wackernagel's 'Kirchenlied' of 1841; but unless that hymn can be traced considerably farther back than he has done, it must be regarded as posterior to the Scotch.

"Quha can discriue or put in write," "Gif ze haif rissin from deide agane," and " Quha suld my mellodie amend," may possibly be original—at least several poems in that five-lined stanza are found in other Scottish poets of that time. (See religious poems in Bannatyne MS.)

The carol on the conception of Christ, " Lat vs reioyis and sing," is probably modelled on some old secular " ballate." "La, la, la," is the refrain of one of the ballads given by Ritson. Line 1, "Lat vs," &c., so read C. and D. as well as A., but B. has Let.

Footnote 1. The second Zule is found in the " Tabill" of contents, and is needed to complete the number of feet in the line.

Key to Notes:

The Letters, A, B, C, and D, refer to editions of the main work, A Compendious Book, as follows:

A. 1567
B. 1578
C. 1600
D. 1621

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