God Rest ye Merry Gentleman (song)

﻿
"God rest ye merry gentleman" is a well known English Christmas carol.
===Lyrics===
God rest ye merry gentleman, let nothing you dismay
For Jesus Christ our saviour, was born on this day
To save us all from Satan's power when we gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, o tidings of comfort and joy
 
From God our heavenly father, a blessed angel came
And unto certain shepherds brought tidings of the same
How that in Bethlehem was born, the son of God by name
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, o tidings of comfort and joy
 
The shepherds at these tidings rejoiced much in mind
And left their flocks a-feeding in tempest, storm and wind
And went to Bethlehem straight-way, the blessed babe to find
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, o tidings of comfort and joy
==Title==
Although the grammar in this song is now archaic, placing a comma is the right place can make the meaning of this carol much clearer. The title is not "God rest ye, merry gentlemen", but "God rest ye merry, gentlemen". That is, the song is a blessing on all gentlemen, not just the merry ones. The singer requests that God would help the gathered gentlemen to remain happy. See Catherine Osborne's blog for some more grammatical comments.
Category:Christian music
Category:Christmas carols