The First Noel Lyrics - Traditional Carol

The First Noel

• Tune Name: THE FIRST NOEL
• Composer: Traditional English (anonymous)
• Lyricist: Traditional English (anonymous)
• Meter: 8.6.8.6.8.6. with refrain (irregular)
• Country of Origin: England (traditionally associated with Cornwall)

The First Noel Lyrics

The first No­el the an­gel did say
Was to cer­tain poor shep­herds
In fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay tend­ing their sheep,
On a cold win­ter’s night that was so deep.

Refrain: Noel, No­el, No­el, No­el,
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.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

This star drew nigh to the north­west,
Over Beth­le­hem it took its rest;
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right ov­er the place where Je­sus lay.

Refrain

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

Refrain

Then en­tered in those wise men three,
Full rev­er­ent­ly up­on the knee,
And of­fered there, in His pre­sence,
Their gold and myrrh and frank­in­cense.

Refrain

Between an ox stall and an ass,
This Child tru­ly there He was;
For want of cloth­ing they did Him lay
All in a man­ger, among the hay.

Refrain

Then let us all with one ac­cord
Sing prais­es to our heav’n­ly Lord;
That hath made Heav’n and earth of naught,
And with His blood man­kind hath bought.

Refrain

If we in our time shall do well,
We shall be free from death and hell;
For God hath pre­pared for us all
A rest­ing place in ge­ner­al.

Refrain

And here's the carol is it appeared in Christ­mas Ca­rols, An­cient and Mo­dern, by Will­iam San­dys, pag­es 74–75.

Verse1: The first Now­ell the An­gel did say
Was to three poor Shep­herds in the fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keep­ing their sheep
In a cold win­ter’s night that was so deep.

Refrain: Nowell, Now­ell, Now­ell, Now­ell,
Born is the King of Is­ra­el.

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.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

This Star drew nigh to the North West,
O’er Beth­le­hem it took it’s rest,
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Je­sus lay.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

Then en­ter’d in those Wise Men three
Most rev­er­ent­ly up­on their knee
And of­fer’d there in his pre­sence,
Both gold, and myrrh, and frank­in­cense.

Refrain

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

Refrain

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.

Refrain

If we in our time shall do well,
We shall be free from death and Hell,
For God hath pre­pared for us all
A rest­ing place in gen­er­al.

Refrain

Chronological History of The First Noel

Table 2. Musical and publication details

Table 3. Biblical narrative and lyrical development:

Table 4. Comparison of the early publications