"The Rocking Carol", also known as "Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep" and "Rocking", is an English

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

Percy Dearmer Percival Dearmer (1867–1936) was an English priest and liturgist best known as the author of ''The Parson's Handbook'', a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy, and as editor of ''The English Hymnal''. A lifelong socialist, he was an early ad ...

. It was translated from Czech (Hajej, nynej) in 1928 and is performed as a lullaby to the

baby Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

. The carol has also been known in English as the "Rocking" carol since an American edition in 1963. The carol has been recorded by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...

and other artists.

History

Gerard van Honthorst - Adoration of the Shepherds (1622)

The carol was first published in an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

in 1920 in Czechoslovakia, where it was described as a traditional Czech carol. It was loosely translated into English by Percy Dearmer, as part of his effort of resurrecting hymns that had fallen into disuse and introducing European hymns into the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The carol is sung in the form of a lullaby to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

while rocking the manger as if it were a more modern cradle, as noted by the repetitive chorus of "We will rock you". It was first published in ''

The Oxford Book of Carols ''The Oxford Book of Carols'' is a collection of vocal scores of Christmas carols and carols of other seasons. It was first published in 1928 by Oxford University Press and was edited by Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams. It ...

'', which Dearmer had edited alongside

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV (TV network), ITV crime-action television drama series ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable ...

and

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, in 1928. After initial publication, the carol gradually decreased in popularity until the 1960s when the English actress

performed a commercially released version of it. Following this, it was published in ''

Carols for Choirs ''Carols for Choirs'' is a collection of choral scores, predominantly of Christmas carols and hymns, first published in 1961 by Oxford University Press. It was edited by Sir David Willcocks and Reginald Jacques, and is a widely used source of ...

'' by

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge ...

and

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

Description

"The Rocking Carol" consists of two verses with eight lines each. It is performed with a 10.7.8.8.7.7

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

. The hymn continues to be published within Church of England and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

hymnals. The hymn has been described as the quintessential lullaby carol compared with similar wording lullaby Christmas carols of "

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

" and "

Away in a Manger "Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols; a 1996 Gallup Poll ranked it joint second. Although i ...

" as hymnologists opine that the lyrics and melody both strongly suggest the rocking of a cradle.

Lyrics

In Czech, the lyrics commence: ''"Hajej, nynej, Ježíšku, půjčíme ti kožíšku. Budeme tě kolébati, abys moh' libě pospati. Hajej, nynej, miláčku, Mariánský synáčku."''

Criticism

After publication, the final line of the carol met with dissatisfaction, with a number of hymnal editors altering it from "Darling, darling little man" to "Son of God and Son of Man". Critics of "The Rocking Carol" have argued that it has only minor Biblical references and is written without theological context and historical precision.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocking Carol Christmas carols 1920 songs

History

Description

Lyrics

Criticism

See also

References