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

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

Percy Dearmer Percival Dearmer (27 February 1867 – 29 May 1936) was an English Anglican 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 ...

. It was translated from Czech ("") in 1928 and is performed as a

lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

to the baby Jesus.

History

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 related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

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

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s that had fallen into disuse and introducing European hymns into the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

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

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

while rocking the

manger __NOTOC__ A manger or trough is a rack for fodder, or a structure or feeder used to hold food for animals. The word comes from the Old French ''mangier'' (meaning "to eat"), from Latin ''mandere'' (meaning "to chew"). Mangers are mostly used in ...

as if it were a more modern

cradle Cradle or Cradles may refer to: * Cradle (bed) * Bassinet, a small bed, often on rockers, in which babies and small children sleep Mechanical devices * Cradle (circus act), or aerial cradle or casting cradle used in an aerial circus act * Crad ...

, 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 sheet music, 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 (composer), Mart ...

'', which Dearmer had edited alongside Martin Shaw 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

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 eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

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 o ...

'' by Reginald Jacques and

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, Cambridg ...

Description

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

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

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

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

s. The hymn has been described as the quintessential lullaby carol and compared with similarly worded Christmas carols, "

Silent Night "Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO The United Nations Educati ...

" and " Away in a Manger"; hymnologists opine that the lyrics and melody both strongly suggest the rocking of a cradle.

Melody and words

The original Czech lyrics are: 1. Hajej, nynej, Ježíšku, Ježíšku, pučíme ti kožíšku. Budeme té kolíbati, Abys moh' libě pospati, Hajej, nynej, Ježíšku, Pučíme ti kožíšku. 2. Hajej, nynej, miláčku, Miláčku, mariánský synáčku. Budeme té kolíbati, Abys moh' libě pospati, Hajej, nynej, miláčku, Mariánský synáčku. The English words are a poetic translation. : \header \layout global = soprano = \relative c' alto = \relative c' tenor = \relative c' bass = \relative c verseOne = \lyricmode verseTwo = \lyricmode \score \score :Source

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". Barry Cooper has argued that it has only minor biblical references and is written without theological content and "painting a wholly imaginary scene".

References

External links

* , Choir of New College Oxford {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocking Carol Christmas carols 1920 songs Lullabies Songs in Czech