Welcome Yule

Alternate Title: Welcome Be Thou, Heaven-king

For Christmas

Words: From the Sloane MS

Music: Air from Deuteromelia, 1609

Source: Carol 673, Rev. Charles Lewis Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New
(Boston: Parish Choir, 1916)
MIDI / Noteworthy Composer / PDF

1. Welcome be thou, heaven-king,
Welcome born in one morning,
Welcome for whom we shall sing,
Welcome for whom we shall sing,
Welcome Yule.¹

2. Welcome be ye, Stephan and John,
Welcome Innocents every one
Welcome Thomas Martyr one,
Welcome Thomas Marty one,
Welcome Yule.

3. Welcome be ye, good New Year,
Welcome Twelfth Day, both in fere,²
Welcome saints lef and dear,
Welcome saints lef and dear,
Welcome Yule.

4. Welcome be ye Candlemas,
Welcome be ye, Queen of Bliss,
Welcome both to more and less,³
Welcome both to more and less,
Welcome Yule.

5. Welcome be ye that are here,
Welcome all and make good cheer;
Welcome all, another year,
Welcome all, another year,
Welcome Yule.

Notes from Joshua Sylvester, A Garland of Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: John Camden Hotten, 1861)

1. Yule is the Anglo-Saxon for Christmas. Return

2. In company. Return

3. Great and small. Return

Additional note from Sylvester:

This early carol (temp. Henry VI.) is given by Ritson in his "Ancient Songs and Ballads," with its mixture of Scriptural allusions and invitations to worldly enjoyment, was, doubtless, one of those sung by the tribe of professional minstrels during the several periods of feasting into which the day of Yule was divided. It was thought at first that it could scarcely be classed as religious, yet was that element found so predominant that it has been included in this part.

In the version printed by Sylvester, the doubling of the third line is omitted.

Hugh Keyte, an editor of The New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992) believes that "Joshua Sylvestre" is a pseudonym for a collaboration between William Sandys (1792-1874) and William Henry Husk (1814-1887). See Appendix 4.

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Sheet Music from Rev. Charles L. Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New
(Boston: Parish Choir, 1916), Carol 673

See and play the Noteworthy Composer score if you have installed the NoteWorthy Composer Browser Plug-in Welcome_Yule Only tested by Noteworthy for Netscape, Opera, and IE Browsers (Versions 4 or 5) In my experience, it also works with Firefox.

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Copies of this carol on this web site:

• Wolcum Be Thu, Hevene Kyng (Ritson, Ancient Songs, 1790)

• Wolcu zol thu mery ma (Wolcü be þu heuene kyng; William Sandys, 1833)

• Wolcum be thu, hevene kyng; Thomas Wright, 1841)

• Welcü Yole In Good Array (Welcü be þ^u heue kyng; William Sandys, 1852)

• Wolcum, Yole, Thou Mery Man (Wolcum be thou, hevene king; Chambers & Sidgwick, 1907) [this page]

• Welcome Yule (Welcome be thou, Heaven-King; Edith Rickert, 1910)

• Welcome Yule (Welcome be thou, heaven-king; Charles L. Hutchins, 1916) (this page)

• Welcum, Yole, In Glod Aray (Welcum be thou, Heven Kyng; Richard Greene, 1962)

Note:

• Feast day of St. Stephan the First Martyr is December 26; See: Hymns to St Stephen

• Feast day of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist is December 27; See: Hymns To St. John The Evangelist

• Feast day of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs, is December 28; See: The Hymns Of The Holy Innocents

• Feast day of St. Thomas, Bishop and Martyr is December 29;

• January 1 is the Octave of Christmas, and the start of the New Year;

• Twelfth Day is Epiphany, January 6;

• Candlemas (the blessing of the candles) is February 2; See: Candlemas

• The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary is February 2.

This is one of many "counting" songs among the hymns and carols of Christmas. See the notes to the Twelve Days of Christmas.

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