While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
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"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" (also known as "While Shepherds Watched" or "The Vision of the Shepherds") is a Christmas carol with words attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate.
The exact date of Tate's composition is not known, but the words appeared in Tate and Nicholas Brady's 1700 supplement to their psalter, New Version of the Psalms of David of 1696. It was the only Christmas hymn authorised to be sung by the Anglican Church; before 1700 only the Psalms of David were permitted to be sung. It is written in common metre and based on the Gospel of Luke 2:8-14, although the gospel's "peace on earth to men of good will" is modified to the more encompassing "goodwill henceforth from heaven to men". It is the only one of the sixteen works in the 1700 supplement to still be sung today.
The title in the supplement was "Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour", but it has since become known chiefly by its opening line. It is also known as "Whilst Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" or "Whilst Shepherds Watched" with "Whilst" appearing for "While" and this is how Tate's original appeared. Most modern hymn books have substituted "While" for "Whilst". The Hymnal 1982 published in the US updated "Whilst" to "While" together with a number of other modernisations, including dropping "Hallelujah" as the final line.
It was set to music in 1812 in Harmonia Sacra. David Weyman's adaptation of "Christmas", taken from an aria in the 1728 opera Siroe by George Frideric Handel was arranged by Lowell Mason in 1821, and it is now this version which is most commonly used in the USA. In the United Kingdom and Canada the standard is the alternative arrangement using the music "Old Winchester", originally from Este's psalter, the Whole Book of Psalmes, from 1592 but arranged by William Henry Monk sometime before 1874. It has been set to numerous other tunes, most commonly "Martyrdom", written by Hugh Wilson in 1800 but with an arrangement by Ralph E. Hudson from around 1885, and "Shackelford" by Frederick Henry Cheeswright from 1889.
[edit] Words
Numerous versions of the words exist but normally differ only in small details. These differences may have been the result of modernisations, orthographical errors or deliberate changes to fit the words to a musical arrangement.
Sample words:
While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.
"Fear not," said he, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind;
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind."
"To you, in David's town this day
Is born of David's line
A Savior, who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:
"The heavenly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid."
Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song:
"All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace;
Goodwill henceforth from heaven to men
Begin, and never cease."
In the UK, a comical variation often sung by schoolchildren is:
While shepherds washed their socks by night
All watching ITV,
The angel of the Lord came down
And switched to BBC.
[edit] Cover versions
- 2006 - Maddy Prior - An Evening of Carols and Capers
- 1974 - The Choir of St John's College, Cambridge
- 1959, 1969 - The Choir of King's College, Cambridge
- 1998 - The Choir of Winchester Cathedral
[edit] References
- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. The Hymns and Carols of Christmas. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
- While Shepherds Watched. carols.org.uk. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
- Nahum Tate (1652-1715). Poem of the Week. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. The Cyber Hymnal (2006-09-30). Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
- Steve Benner (2003). While shepherds watched their flocks by night. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
- Helen Yeomans (2005). While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks. Christmas Carols and Carol Singing. Retrieved on December 20, 2007.
