An orchestral arrangement, by Victor Hely-Hutchinson from his ''Carol Symphony'', was memorably used as the theme to the BBC adaptation of John Masefield 's seasonal fantasy adventure, '' The Box Of Delights ''.
The word ''Nowell'' comes from the French word Noël meaning "Christmas", from the Latin word ''natalis'' (" Birth ").
The first Nowell, the angel did say,
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where 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.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
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.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
This star drew nigh to the northwest;
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest,
And there it did both stop and stay,
Right o'er the place where Jesus lay.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
Then did they know assuredly
Within that house the King did lie;
One entered it them for to see,
And found the Babe in poverty.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
Then entered in those Wise Men three,
Full reverently upon the knee,
And offered there, in His presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
Between an ox stall and an ass,
This Child truly there He was;
For want of clothing they did Him lay
All in a manger, among the hay.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
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.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
If we in our time shall do well,
We shall be free from death and hell;
For God hath prepared for us all
A resting place in general.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.
A parody of the carol appears in a holiday episode of the Animaniacs :
To spell Santa's name
Is easy to do
You write S, A, N, T
And another A, too.
But no L, no L
Santa's name has no L
And he won't be too pleased
If you don't learn to spell.
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch water from a well
But when neither one could find it
Jill started to yell.
"No well, no well
Can't believe there's no well!
We walked all the way here
And I'm mad, can't you tell."
Captain Ahab took his crew
His harpoon and set sail
And he called out to ships,
"Have you seen the white whale?"
"No whale, no whale
No, we ain't seen no whale
Saw a couple of dolphins
And a big yellowtail."
If you've listened to this tune
Then you probably can tell
That you've heard it before
It's a song you know well.
Know well, know well
It's a song you know well
And we've ruined it completely
So we all say, "Oh well."
Oh well, oh well
We'll just say, "Fare thee well"
Merry Christmas to you
And a joyous Noel.
Another parody of ''The First Noël'' appears as a 60-second holiday preview spot that would air every year, starting in 2003 , on the Digital Cable network The Family Channel . However, it is transmitted to a song called "''Never A Dull Mark Moment''". Any of which, the song is a definite source of the channel's shows which would be shown on an upcoming event. The announcer's voice would be combined in a singing voice which would sound like one of the characters from '' Sesame Street '', but this time, in a common vocal.
The lyrics for this parody are as follows:
(snowflakes glisten, bells jingle)
Never a dull mark moment,
The kids will explode,
For the Specials , Shows , Movies
And Episodes ;
You can see it all here
All December long,
Where did this song
Happen so wrong;
You will have a happy holiday;
Yes, siree,
'cause it's never a dull mark
moment on Family...
Starting December 1;
Never a dull mark moment!
- Easybyte - free easy piano music for The First Noel
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