"certain" in The First Noel

[Laurence Horn]

We're not the only ones who've been wondering.  I 
found a number of threads on various user groups 
on this, including such remarks as the following:

==============
This has always bothered me a bit...

: : : : : : : "The first Noel, The angels did say
: : : : : : : was to certain poor shepherds,
: : : : : : : in fields as they lay..."

: : : : : : : Does this mean 'certain shepherds' 
as opposed to certain *other* shepherds? Is is an 
archaic verb? Is is just the way lyrics are 
sometimes?

: : : : : : : This has been preying on my mind 
for decades. Some times I wake up and night and 
wonder. Many thanks in advance for any insights.
==============
When I was a child, the song "The First Noel" had 
me thinking that the word "certain" could be a 
verb. The line "The first Noel the angels did say 
was to certain poor shepherds in fields where 
they lay" meant to me that the poor shepherds 
were uncertain about something, so the angels 
came to "certain" them, that is, to make them 
certain.
==============
I used to believe "certain" (used as a verb) was 
an uber-secret religious ritual performed on 
reluctant shepherds. I knew this because it said 
so in the song. "The First Noel the Angels did 
say, was to certain poor shepherds in field where 
they lay."
==============

I was going to suggest another analysis of that 
line, taking "was to certain poor shepherds" to 
represent an old dative-possessive construction. 
This allows us the retention of the parenthetical 
analysis of "the angels did say", viz.

According to what the angels said, the first Noël 
belonged to certain poor shepherds....

Unlikely (espcially if "No(w)el(l)" really was an 
interjection, hence forcing a mention rather than 
use interpretation), but perhaps not impossible.

LH

P.S.  I love the "Oh well, oh well" version.

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