So I’ve been pondering over a selection of Christmas carols to sing December 20 when we leave the Rosine Bluegrass Gospel Show to go caroling through Rosine. My plan is to make large-print copies and staple them together.
I’ve settled on five carols: “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World,” “O, Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Are they written in stone? Not at all. But we have to start somewhere.
I’d like to share the lyrics now so folks can prepare for December 20.
According to Wikipedia, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” is an African-American spiritual song handed down orally in the 1800’s but didn’t appear in print until 1909.
”Silent Night” just might be the most popular of all Christmas carols. According to Susan Lewis, at WRTI radio in Philadelphia, the song was first performed in 1818 in Oberdorf, Austria.
Crossway.org, a publisher of Christian works, says “Joy to the World” was first written as a poem in 1719 by English hymnist Isaac Watts. He based it on Psalm 98.
PSALM 98
And here is “Joy to the World”:
“O, Come All Ye Faithful” is even older than “Joy to the World.” According to Wikipedia, it dates back to the 1600’s, and we don’t know definitively who the author was. It wasn’t translated to English until 1841.
Lastly, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” was published in 1739 by Charles Wesley, a leader of the Methodist movement. His brother John was the founder of the Methodist church.
I didn’t choose this hymn for this particular reason, but I find it fitting that the little church where we’re holding the Rosine Bluegrass Gospel Show was the Rosine Methodist Church when Bill Monroe sang in the choir in 1924.
I wonder if he ever sang “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.”
In less than three weeks, the last Rosine Bluegrass Gospel Show of 2025 will take place 6-8pm at the Rosine Community Lighthouse Church. That’s December 20! The Caney Creek Gang will perform 6-7pm, and then leave our warm comfort zone and venture into the night.
I am so looking forward to this event. I especially hope and pray for good weather so as many folks as possible can go caroling.
Glen and Linda House have volunteered to bring their hayride wagon for folks who can’t walk.
That is exactly the spirit! ‘Tis the season!
