Dating back to the sixteenth century, the winter carol, Nos Galan lyrics first appeared in Welsh Melodies, a set of four volumes authored by John Thomas with Welsh words by John Jones (Talhaiarn) and English words by Thomas Oliphant,[1] although the repeated “fa la la” goes back to the original Welsh Nos Galan and may originate from medieval ballads.
The melody of “Deck the Hall” is taken from “Nos Galan” (“New Year’s Eve”), a traditional Welsh New Year’s Eve carol published in 1794, although it is much older. The Welsh and English lyrics supplied there are as follows: {^Jones, Edward (1794). Musical and poetical relicks of the Welsh bards. London. p. 159.}
- O mor gynnes mynwes meinwen,
- fal lal lal lal lal lal lal lal la:
- O mor fwyn yw llwya meillionen,
- fal lal lal lal lal lal lal lal la:
- O mor felus yw’r cusanau,
- [instrumental flourish]
- Gyda serch a mwynion eiriau
- fal lal lal lal lal lal lal lal la:
|
- Oh! how soft my fair one’s bosom,
- fal lal lal lal lal lal lal lal la:
- Oh! how sweet the grove in blossom,
- fal lal lal lal lal lal lal lal la:
- Oh! how blessed are the blisses,
- [instrumental flourish]
- Words of love, and mutual kisses,
- fal lal lal lal lal lal lal lal la:
|