"The First Noël" (sometimes "The First Nowell") is a traditional English Christmas carol, most likely from the 16th or 17th century, but possibly dating from as early as the 13th century. In its current form it is of Cornish origin, and it was first published in Some Ancient Christmas Carols (1823) and Gilbert and Sandys Christmas Carols (1833), edited by William Sandys and arranged, edited and extra lyrics written by Davies Gilbert. The melody is unusual among English folk melodies in that it consists of essentially the same musical phrase repeated three times, and ending on the third of the scale. It is thought to be a corruption of an earlier melody sung in a church gallery setting; a conjectural reconstruction of the earlier version can be found in the New Oxford Book of Carols (1992, ISBN 0193533235). Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Singing carols: John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together A Christmas carol (also called a noël) is a carol (song or hymn) whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter season in general. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow) is a county in South West England on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... William Sandys may refer to: William Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of the Vyne, a 16th century English diplomat William B. Sandys, a 19th century English antiquarian and Christmas carol collector William Sandys Waterworks Sandys 17th century navigation entrepreneur Category: ... The Davies-Gilbert family is one of Britains most prestigious families. ... West Gallery Music is a term which refers to music conventionally sung and played in the West Gallery of a Church of England church. ... In mathematics, a conjecture is a mathematical statement which appears likely to be true, but has not been formally proven to be true under the rules of mathematical logic. ... // Reconstruction was a period in United States history, 1863–1877, that resolved the issues of the American Civil War when both the Confederacy and its system of slavery were destroyed. ... The volume consisting collections of more than 201 Christmas Carols, published by Oxford University Press. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

An orchestral arrangement, by Victor Hely-Hutchinson from his Carol Symphony, was memorably used as the theme to the BBC adaptation of John Masefield's seasonal fantasy adventure, The Box of Delights. The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... John Edward Masefield, OM, (1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967), was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967. ... The Box of Delights is a childrens fantasy novel by John Masefield. ...

The word Nowell comes from the French word Noël meaning "Christmas", from the Latin word natalis ("birth"). It may also be from the Gaulish words "noio" or "neu" meaning "new" and "helle" meaning "light" referring to the winter solstice when sunlight begins overtaking darkness. Noël is a word of French origin referring either to the Christmas celebration or a Christmas carol. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant from its mothers uterus. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin: ) was the name given, in ancient times, to the region of Western Europe comprising present-day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... The December solstice occurs on December 21 or December 22 of most years, and is known by different names in different hemispheres of Earth: Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the shortest day of the year. ...

Lyrics

The first 'Nowell!' the angels 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.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

They lookèd 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.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

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 wheresoever it went.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

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.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

(*) Then did they know assuredly
Within that house the King did lie;
One entered in then for to see,
And found the Babe in poverty.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

Then entered in those wise men three,
Full reverently upon their knee,
And offered there, in his presence,
Both gold and myrrh, and frankincense.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

(*) Between an ox-stall and an ass
This Child there truly bornèd was;
For want of clothing they did him lay
All in the manger, among the hay.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made heaven and earth of nought,
And with His blood mankind hath bought.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
 

(*) If we in our time shall do well
We shall be free from death and hell,
For God hath preparèd for us all
A resting-place in general.

Nowell! nowell! nowell! nowell!
Born is the King of Israel!
Verses marked with (*) are often omitted in modern performances.

Animaniacs parody

A parody of the song appeared on an episode of Animaniacs. In it, they use different scenes, the joke being that each verse involves someone saying something that sounds like the word 'nowell'. Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs was a popular American animated television series, distributed by Warner Bros. ...

In the first verse, Yakko Warner is showing his brother how to spell Santa Claus' name. Wakko was spelling it "Santla", but of course, Santa's name has No "L".

The second verse begins telling the story of Jack and Jill, but Jill(Dot Warner) is upset because the hill is empty. There's No well, William Wallace Denslows illustrations for Jack and Jill, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose Jack & Jill in the act of tumbling down, according to Denslow Jack and Jill is a classic nursery rhyme of Western culture. ...

In the third verse, Captain Ahab searches for Moby Dick, but when he asks other ships, they "ain't seen No Whale." Moby-Dick[1] is an 1851 novel by Herman Melville. ...

In the final verse, the Warners admit that the tune of the parody is a song you should Know well. But their parody has completely ruined it... "Oh well"!

In one version its lyrics totally un-Christmas, as a recital of the alphabets. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, M, N, O, P ,Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. And someone would say hey you missed out the letter L! And we will continue with its chorus as No "L" No "L" ...

Other parodies

Another parody of The First Nowell appears as a 60-second holiday preview spot that would air every year, starting in 2003, on the digital cable network The Family Channel. However, it is transmitted to a song called "Never A Dull Mark Moment". Any of which, the song is a definite source of the channel's shows which would be shown on an upcoming event. The announcer's voice would be combined in a singing voice which would sound like one of the characters from Sesame Street, but this time, in a common vocal. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Digital cable is a term for a type of cable digital television that delivers more channels than possible with analog cable by using digital video compression. ... For the American cable TV broadcaster, see ABC Family. ... Sesame Street is an American educational childrens television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. ...

Other versions

• In 1991, Canadian Folk-Rock band Crash Test Dummies released this song as a single from the compilation A Lump of Coal. A re-recorded version later appeared on their 2002 album Jingle All The Way.
• The boy band *NSYNC once used this song in their album "Home for Christmas." It is Track 8 on the CD.
• Conor Oberst, better known as Bright Eyes, released this song in his A Christmas Album, along songs like "White Christmas" and "Silent Night".
• Noel was recorded by The Supremes but remained unreleased until 1999 when their Christmas Album, "Merry Christmas," was re-released with additional tracks.
• Whitney Houston recorded her own version on her 2003 album One Wish: The Holiday Album.
• Daryl Hall & John Oates released this song on their 2006 album Home For Christmas.
• Aly & AJ released this song on their 2006 album Acoustic Hearts of Winter.
• Third Day released a live version of this song for their 2006 album Christmas Offerings.
• Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan released her version of this song on her first Christmas album, Wintersong, in 2006.
• The Trans-Siberian Orchestra have worked the melody of "The First Nowell" into a number of their songs.

1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bob Dylans folk rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... For the mannequins, see Crash test dummy. ... A Lump of Coal is a compilation album of Christmas music produced in 1991. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Jingle All The Way is a 2002 Christmas album by Crash Test Dummies. ... *NSYNC is a five-part pop music vocal group, sometimes referred to as a boy band, formed in Orlando, Florida, USA. The group members are Lance Bass, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Justin Timberlake. ... Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. ... Bright Eyes is an indie rock band consisting of singer-songwriter/guitarist Conor Oberst, multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omahas indie music scene. ... The Supremes were a Motown all-female singing group active from 1959 until 1977, performing at various times doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway showtunes, psychedelia, and disco. ... Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born on August 9, 1963) is an American pop and R&B singer and actress. ... One Wish: The Holiday Album is the sixth album by American R&B singer Whitney Houston, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music). ... Daryl Hall and John Oates. ... Home For Christmas is Daryl Hall & John Oates first full length album of Christmas music. ... Aly & AJ are a Christian pop duo consisting of sisters Alyson Renae Aly Michalka and Amanda Joy AJ Michalka. ... To meet Wikipedia quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Third Day is a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. ... Christmas Offerings is the seventh full-length album by the Christian band Third Day. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. ... Wintersong is a holiday album from Canadian singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released on October 17, 2006. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Trans-Siberian Orchestra (often abbreviated as TSO) is a rock orchestra founded by Paul ONeill, Robert Kinkel, and Jon Oliva in 1996. ...

External links

• Easybyte - free easy piano music for The First Nowell

--Zillaman2006 15:44, 11 December 2006 (UTC)