"Past Three O'Clock" (or "Past Three a Clock") 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 ...

, loosely based on the call of the traditional London waits, musicians and watchmen who patrolled during the night, using a musical instrument to show they were on duty and to mark the hours. The refrain dates from at least the early modern period, appearing in print in a 1665 supplement to John Playford's ''

The Dancing Master ''The Dancing Master'' (first edition: ''The English Dancing Master'') is a dancing manual containing the music and instructions for English country dances. It was first published in 1651 by John Playford. History It was published in several e ...

''. The words were written by

George Ratcliffe Woodward George Ratcliffe Woodward (27 December 1848 – 3 March 1934) was an English Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies ...

(1848–1934) to the traditional tune "London Waits". Woodward added lines to the traditional refrain in a style characteristic of his delight in archaic poetry. It was published in ''A Cambridge Carol Book: Being Fifty-two Songs for Christmas, Easter and Other Seasons'' in 1924. Numerous variations of the carol include an arrangement by William Llewellyn as a "quodlibet" for choir: ''London Waits (Past Three O'clock)''. Recordings of the carol include those by the Choir of

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, the

Choir of King's College, Cambridge The Choir of King's College, Cambridge is an English Anglican choir. It is considered one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great English choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded King's Coll ...

, the Monteverdi Choir., the Renaissance Singers, James Galway and the

National Philharmonic Orchestra The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a British orchestra created exclusively for recording purposes. It was founded by RCA Records producer and conductor Charles Gerhardt and orchestra leader and contractor Sidney Sax. The orchestra was created ...

and The Chieftains on the album

The Bells of Dublin ''The Bells of Dublin'' is a 1991 album of Christmas songs and traditional music, traditional Christmas carols, carols by the Irish band The Chieftains. The album features guest performances by various artists, including Elvis Costello, Jackson Br ...

, (1991). It features in the third movement of

Patric Standford Patric Standford (5 February 1939 – 23 April 2014) was an English composer, supporter of composers' rights, educationalist and author. Early life and education Patric John Standford (real name John Gledhill) was born in Barnsley, moved to t ...

's ''A Christmas Carol Symphony'' (1978). Popular music artists who have recorded the carol include

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

on the album ''

A Merry Little Christmas A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (2000) and Chris Squire on the album ''

Chris Squire's Swiss Choir ''Chris Squire's Swiss Choir'' is the second and final solo album by Chris Squire. An album of traditional Christmas music, it was released in 2007 and includes former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, future King Crimson drummer and keyboardist Je ...

'' (2007).

References

{{reflist

External links

The Cambridge Carol-Book: Being Fifty-Two Songs for Easter, Christmas, and Other Seasons
(with scans of original) 1924 songs 20th-century hymns Christmas carols English Christian hymns

See also

References

External links