Thing! Dong! Merrily on High
Thing! Dong! Merrily on High ( Ding, dong, happy up high , Ding! Dong! Happy always , Hosanna in excelsis ) is an English Christmas carol . Its boisterous, cheerful melody rings out to the bells ringing in heaven , which celebrate the birth of the Savior , Jesus Christ . His refrain is the Latin Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!
The text is by George Ratcliffe Woodward (1848–1934) from the 20th century, while the melody is a French dance from the 16th century. The Christmas carol first appeared in 1924.
The melody first appeared for a secular dance known as le branle de l'Official in the work Orchésographie (1589), a dance book by Thoinot Arbeau (pseudonym for Jehan Tabourot , 1519–1593).
A popular choral setting is by Charles Wood . More recent arrangements have been made by Mack Wilberg , music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir , and David Willcocks .
text
English | translation |
---|---|
Thing! dong! merrily on high REFRAIN E'en so here below, below, REFRAIN Pray you, dutifully prime REFRAIN |
Ding, dong, happy up KEHRVERS Also down here REVERSE We ask you, bell ringer, REVERSE |
Web links
- Hymns and Carols of Christmas ( Charles Wood and George Ratcliffe Woodward. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1924)
- Sound sample a (Mack Wilberg); b (David Willcocks); c (Charles Wood); d (from the sketch The Visitors from Monty Python's Flying Circus - from 5:20 am )
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Ordinarium (Sanctus)
- ^ A b The Cambridge Carol Book: Being Fifty-Two Songs For Easter, Christmas, And Other Seasons
- ↑ Thoinot Arbeau: Orchesographie. Et traicte en forme de dialogve, par leqvel tovtes personnes pevvent facilement apprendre & practiquer l'honneste exercice des dances. Iehan des Preyz, Lengres 1589, p. 91 f. ( Digitized version ).
- ↑ 22. Autres branles morgués , HTML transcription of the orchésography , accessed on November 30, 2015.
- ↑ Swings and sung are older English verb forms.
- ↑ Cf. the verses at gerth.de : Ding, dong, happy all time [...]