Members:
Shaun Johnson - tenor
Mark McGowan - baritone
Greg Bannwarth - tenor
Jared Dove - bass
Albums:
On Top Of The World (Holiday) Compact Disc (2007)
Christmas DVD (2006)
Boston to Beijing Compact Disc (June 2005)
By Request Compact Disc (2004)
Red Vinyl Compact Disc (2003)
Sugarue (Holiday) Compact Disc (2002)
Style Compact Disc (2001)
Left Turns (re-release) Compact Disc (2000)
Carol (Holiday) Compact Disc (1997)
Left Turns in Cross Traffic Compact Disc (1996)
4 hours and 12 days Compact Disc (1995)
Video/DVDs:
Tonic Sol-fa: Christmas (2006)
Front Row (2001)
The First Noel
Tonic Sol-fa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was to certain poor shepherds
In fields as they lay;
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.
And by the light of that same star
Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a king was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.
This star drew nigh to the northwest,
O'er Bethlehem it took it rest,
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Then entered in those wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee,
And offered there in his presence
Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with his blood mankind hath bought
The First Noel is a Christmas carol that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ as perceived by the shepherds who were first visited by angelic messengers. The carol begins with the announcement of the birth of Jesus by an angel to the shepherds who were watching their flocks by night. The phrase 'Noel' is a French word that means Christmas, and it is used throughout the carol to signify the joyous birth of the Savior. The lyrics also emphasize the humble circumstances of Jesus' birth by framing it against the backdrop of a cold winter's night when the shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep in the fields.
The second verse of the carol tells of the wise men or Magi who saw a star in the east and followed it to find the newborn King of Israel. The star represented a divine sign that led them to the spot where Jesus lay. The Magi are depicted as bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which were traditional gifts for royalty. The carol closes with an exhortation for all to sing praises to the Lord who created heaven and earth and who gave his life for humankind.
Line by Line Meaning
The First Noel the angel did say
An angel spoke to certain poor shepherds about the first Noel
Was to certain poor shepherds
The first Noel was spoken to poor shepherds
In fields as they lay;
The poor shepherds were lying in fields when the first Noel was spoken to them
In fields as they lay, keeping their sheep,
The poor shepherds were keeping their sheep while lying in the fields
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
The first Noel was spoken to the poor shepherds on a cold and deep winter's night
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
There is jubilant rejoicing and singing with the repetition of the word 'Noel'
Born is the King of Israel.
The King of Israel has been born
They looked up and saw a star
The poor shepherds looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far,
The star was shining far beyond them, towards the east
And to the earth it gave great light,
The star gave great light to the earth
And so it continued both day and night.
The star continued to shine both day and night
And by the light of that same star
The Three Wise Men followed the light of the same star seen by the poor shepherds
Three wise men came from country far;
Three wise men came from a faraway country
To seek for a king was their intent,
Their intent was to seek for a king
And to follow the star wherever it went.
They intended to follow the star wherever it led them
This star drew nigh to the northwest,
The star drew near to the northwest
O'er Bethlehem it took it rest,
The star rested over Bethlehem
And there it did both stop and stay
The star stopped and stayed over Bethlehem
Right over the place where Jesus lay.
The star stopped and stayed right over the place where Jesus lay
Then entered in those wise men three
The Three Wise Men then entered
Full reverently upon their knee,
The Three Wise Men knelt down in full reverence
And offered there in his presence
The Three Wise Men offered their gifts in the presence of Jesus
Their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
The Three Wise Men offered gold, myrrh, and frankincense
Then let us all with one accord
Let us all praise in unison
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
Let us sing praises to our Lord in heaven
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
Our Lord created heaven and earth from nothing
And with his blood mankind hath bought
Christ redeemed mankind with his blood
Writer(s): RANDY JACKSON, JAMES WRIGHT, MARIAH CAREY, DP, TRADITIONAL
Contributed by Noah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jim FondaLee Savas
on Rescued Me
Love this song.