Discription of the Christmas Carols

CHRISTMAS CAROLS "D" to "H"

Here is a collection of Christmas carols and season songs in basic text format for easy downloading. Click on a title to open the lyrics in a new window. From there you can print or save the file as you wish.

1. Deck the Halls
   Traditional music and lyrics. An ancient tune that evolved into an 18th century Welch New Year song and dance. The fa-la-las were probably intended to imitate the sounds of a harp. The English Christmas lyrics we know today originated in 19th century America.

2. Ding! Dong! Merrily on High
   Traditional 16th century music, lyrics by George Ratcliffe Woodward. Published in Woodward's 1924 edition of The Cambridge Carol-Book . The song is featured in the movie adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women , both the 1949 MGM release and the 1994 Columbia Pictures remake.

3. Do You Hear What I Hear
   Music by Gloria Shayne, lyrics by Noel Regney. Lyrics written by a World War II survivor in 1962 at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney wrote the song as a prayer for peace. It was originally recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale, but Bing Crosby's release a few weeks later made it a hit. The song has been recorded by many artists with different styles.

4. Dominick the Donkey (It)
   Music and lyrics by Ray Allen, Wandra Merrell, and Sam Saltzberg. A children's song composed with an Italian theme, originally recorded by Lou Monte in 1960. The song was never really a hit, but it seems to have gained popularity in recent years as more and more radio stations play oldies holiday music.

5. Donde Esta Santa Claus (Sp)
   Music and lyrics by Alvin Griener, Gordon Parker, and George Scheck. A children's song composed with a Latino theme, originally recorded by Augie Rios in 1958. Other notable recordings include Charo in 1978 and the alternative rock band, Guster, in 2004.

6. Echo Chorus, The
   See notes for “While By My Sheep”.

7. Es ist ein Ros' Entsprungen (Ge)
   See notes for “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming”.

8. Feliz Navidad (Sp)
   Music and lyrics by José Feliciano. Composed and recorded in 1971 by the Puerto Rican native as a mix of Spanish and English. It has been recorded by various artists, including re-recordings by Feliciano, whose rendition remains the standard.

9. First Noël, The
   Traditional music and lyrics. An English folk song of unknown origin, earliest known publication in Some Ancient Christmas Carols in 1823, although it probably dates back to the 16th century.

10. Friendly Beasts, The
    Traditional music and lyrics. A 12th century French folk song translated into English. It is a favorite for children's Christmas pageants, in which soloists take the part of the various animals.

11. Frosty the Snowman
    Music and lyrics by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson. A novelty song created in the wake of the success of “Rudolph”, recorded by Gene Autry in 1950. However, this song includes no mention of Christmas. Like “Rudolph”, it was later adapted into an animated television special.

12. Gentle Mary Laid her Child
    Traditional 13th century music, lyrics by Joseph S. Cook. Composed in 1919 by Cook, using the same tune as “Good King Wenceslas”.

13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
    Traditional music and lyrics. An English carol originally published in the 1833 Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern . It is the carol that appears in the Dickens A Christmas Carol . In the syntax of the day, merry refers to rest, not to gentlemen.

14. G ood Christian Men Rejoice
    Traditional music, lyrics by Heinrich Suso. Composed from a 14th century German melody and translated into English by John Mason Neale in 1853.

15. Good King Wenceslas
    Traditional 13th century music, lyrics by John Mason Neale. Published in 1853 to celebrate the life of Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, a 10th century Czech monarch. The story is set in winter during the Feast of St. Stephen, and the deeds of Wencelaus represent the charity of Christ, so the song naturally became associated with Christmas.

16. Go Tell It on the Mountain
    Traditional music and lyrics. An African-American spiritual from the 19th century, first published by John Wesley Work, Jr., in 1907. Work was a graduate of Fisk University and devoted much of his life to preserving the spirituals of the black slaves. “Go Tell It” has numerous verses, some of which have a Christmas theme.

17. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
    Music and lyrics by Randy Brooks. A novelty song composed in 1978 and performed the following year by Elmo and Patsy Shropshire. The husband and wife duo originally produced and sold their recording of the song at their concerts, before it gained the attention of disc jockies and became a national phenomenon. Elmo & Patsy re-recorded the song and had it released on several record labels. It has become a holiday staple on oldies radio stations.

18. Greensleeves
    See notes for “What Child is This”.

19. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
    Music by Felix Mendelssoh, lyrics by Charles Wesley. Lyrics published in Hymns and Sacred Poems in 1739. Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley, wrote and published thousands of hymns, many of which are among the most well-known hymns of today. The contemporary version of “Hark the Herald” was set to music from Mendelssohn's 1840 Festgesang cantata in 1855 by William Hayman Cummings, who also added the familiar harmonies.

20. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
    Music by Ralph Blane, lyrics by Hugh Martin. Composed for the 1944 movie musical, Meet Me in St. Louis . The song was originally written to reflect the sad, almost morose, mood of the Judy Garland character, as she contemplates an unwanted disruption in her life when her father accepts a career promotion which will uproot the family from their life-long home in St. Louis. The original lyrics expressed the character's feelings of hopelessness (”Faithful friends… will be near to us no more”). At the insistence of the producer and cast, Martin changed some of the lyrics to give the song a more optimistic tone. In 1957, Frank Sinatra wanted to release a new recording, and he asked Martin to rewrite some of the lyrics again. The result is the version that most people know today, which is reproduced here. However, in recent years, some performers have opted for the more melancholy Judy Garland version (see below).

21. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
    Music by Ralph Blane, lyrics by Hugh Martin. The version which Judy Garland sang in the movie. See additional notes above.

22. Here Comes Santa Claus
    Music and lyrics by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman. Written and recorded by Autry in 1947. He was inspired to write the song by his experience in the Hollywood Christmas parade, where he could hear all the children's excitement when they saw Santa Claus, who was in the float behind him.

23. Here We Come a-Wassailing
    Traditional music and lyrics. An English folk song of unknown origin. It celebrates the practice of wassailing, which is a toast to ones health using a hot cider beverage of the same name. The practice of wassailing predates the celebration of Christmas and has its origins in pagan traditions of giving bread (a toast with toast, so to speak) to the orchard in hopes of an abundant harvest the following year. Consequently, the wassail-ing words are sometimes replaced with caroling .

24. Hippopotamus Song, The
    See notes for “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”.

25. Holly and the Ivy, The
    Traditional music and lyrics. An English folk song adapted from the pre-Christian era of Yuletide traditions. Holly and ivy, which may be metaphors for men and women, were incorporated into Christmas decorations by the 15th century. One notable recording is Natalie Cole's 1994 rendition for her album of the same name.

26. Holly Jolly Christmas
    Music and lyrics by Johnny Marks. Recorded by Burl Ives in 1964 and made popular by his Sam the Snowman character, the narrator in the “Rudolph” television special that year.

27. Home for the Holidays
    Music by Robert Allen, lyrics by Al Stillman. Published in 1954 and recorded by Perry Como that same year. Como re-recorded it in 1959, which is the rendition most often included on compilation albums. Another notable recording was released by The Carpenters on their 1984 Old-Fashioned Christmas album.