to insist that it is 'I love THEE' in Away in a Manger

[Balfe]

I have turned into one of those ancient teachers grouching in a corner but really, they're singing 'I love you Lord Jesus'.... It's got to be proper!

Monger thank you so much for pointing out my unforgivable grammatical error. I stand corrected, and will never use an apostrophe incorrectly again.

I was aiming for italics and got muddled up! _ gives you italics on Facebook messenger, so I typed that rather than ^.

I enjoy all of the slightly weird contortions that some lyricists went through to get the lines to scan. I think we should keep to the traditions and respect the kin, etc

Some people have already mentioned my favourite weirdnesses (very god, abhors not the virgins womb). In fact, that line with very god you have to work to make it scan properly.

I think all renditions of the three kings should include all eleventy verses, so that everyone gets to sing my favourite:

Myrhh is mine, it’s bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in a stone cold tomb

It’s extra good if you crescendo on the third line. Properly Christmassy.

sod the words, what I want to know is do you have your own chair in the staffroom?

you can not be an ancient grousing teacher unless you have your own chair.

Ooh - loving a traditional carol thread. So - what is by priest and people sungen?: eye-o, eye-o, eye-o or ee-o, ee-o, ee-o??

Roomba- there is an alternative American tune to O little town of Bethlehem which I think is lovely ..

I love all the old words and I love the descant to Away in a Manger as it's sadly the only one I learnt at school.

Priest and people definitely sing EE-o here. (although I have no idea what it means and why they are imitating an ambulance at Christmas)

I've heard the American version, kitncaboodle, but this wasn't it. I think someone had adapted it to fit a modern pop song, but I'm so out of touch I didn't recognise the tune, maybe?

It'a funny, when I was a child, my mum used to grumble that they'd changed all the tunes to her favourite hymns these days. Now I've become her! Reminds me of Peep Show when Mark comments negatively about something then says, 'Ah, hello Dad. You're living inside me now, are you?'

Myrhh is mine, it’s bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in a stone cold tomb

It’s extra good if you crescendo on the third line.

Ah, that was always my favourite verse too. I was a morbid child! Loved any hymns involving suffering, sinister events or gruesome deaths...

I heard a teacher telling her class it was 'and stay by my side until morning is night' and that they need to be sure not to keep dropping the t.' turns out she has been teaching it wrong for years.

Priest and people definitely sing EE-o here. (although I have no idea what it means and why they are imitating an ambulance at Christmas)

Ooooh Ooooh I know this one, io is Latin, its kind of like hurrah or yippee, its just an exclamation of joy.

They singen eye-o eye-o eye-o chez Russell...

Sparkly I only just made the connection - probably because children are always having to sing things that don't make sense, like pa-rupapumpum, ging gang goolie, and the 'ping a ping pang pong' in Calypso Carol, I never clocked the Latin thing!

It should really just be yo, I suppose then?

sparkly you have given me the mental image of priests singing "yo yo yo!" at each other haha that's really tickled me.

but you are right of course it wouldn't really have the two syllables required if pronounced properly.

soupforbrains hahahaha now I have that image in my head too, thanks, I needed that today

SeekEvery Ging gang goolie is gibberish for a beautiful reason though, at the first world Scout jamboree Robert Baden-Powell wanted a song everyone could sing regardless of what language they spoke so he made up one using gibberish so no one language would be at an advantage learning it.

Glad to report the Carol service this afternoon had the thees and thous in all the right places.

Might have had to have words otherwise.

Do thees and thousand people actually go to church year round?

I go to church year round ffion

Although we have a carol service tonight at the village Methodist church ( I go to the parish church) and I know it will be "you" not "thee".

Yes I go year round, Ffion

I went to a carol service this afternoon, and the words to Hark The Herald Angels had been altered. "Born that man no more may die" was now " Born that we no more may die" - ok, I can see where they're coming from, but next line "Born to raise the sons of earth" was changed to "Born to raise the things of earth." That just sounds all wrong.

The only alterations in ours were due to autocorrect.

Was quite funny when half the congregation sang what was written and the other half sang what the words should have been.

We had "Ding dong merrily" with "Gloria in excelsis deo". That isn't a thing is it?!

The half of us not really looking at the sheets sang "Gloria, hosanna in excelsis".

I got caught out by the new words in the service today- over why they do it but it really annoys me when the new lines don't scan. I don't think we should have to write the literature of the past to acknowledge that we might have moved on in some sentiments.

Also YABU clearly it's:

Get dressed ye merry gentlemen