The First Noel | Logical Lyric Analysis

 

I want to talk about the song The First Noel, the great Christmas anthem that we all sing without stopping to think about what the word noel means and if we do know what it means we do not stop to teach it to others.

Here is the Definition according to google:
Christmas, especially as a refrain in carols and on Christmas cards.

So the chorus of the first Noel has the exact same meaning as:
Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas
Born is the King of Israel

There are not necessarily any issues with that statement but I think we often think there is more meaning when we use the work noel instead and that is simply on the case.

These issues do not stop there, let’s take a peek at the first verse.
The first Noel the angel 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.

So we have some things to look at briefly. First again is the use of Noel. Looking at the first two lines we have the angel saying Noel to the shepherds. This is fine except that we know that Noel is just a synonym for Christmas. If the first two lines are to be read as Noel is what was told to the shepherds, then it doesn’t really work. The second thing to note is that this is listed as a cold winters night. We do not know for sure that this was winter and it was in the middle east, the average temperature in Bethlehem on December 25^th ranges from 44°F to 55°F.

Most of the rest of the song is logical and makes sense. It is worth thinking about the fact that the Shepherds did not see the same star as the wise men as the shepherds did not need it. Here are the rest of thy lyrics for you to draw your own conclusion.

2 They looked up and saw a star
shining in the east, beyond them far;
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night.

3 And by the light of that same star
three Wise Men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent,
and to follow the star wherever it went.

4 This star drew nigh to the northwest,
o'er Bethlehem it took its rest;
and there it did both stop and stay,
right over the place where Jesus lay.

5 Then entered in those Wise Men three,
full reverently upon the knee,
and offered there, in his presence,
their gold and myrrh and frankincense.

Thanks for reading this post, lyrics are from hymnary.org and definitions are from google.
Please share this if you find it fascinating and until next time Thing Before You Sing!