"certain" in The First Noel

[David Donnell]

Regarding this doggerel:

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

Too much hand-wringing over mediocre lyric writing, in my opinion. I
just see those lines as archaic-stilted lyric writing, meaning:

"The first Noel, angels have told us,
was revealed to lowly shepherds..."

Or how 'bout:

"The angels say the epiphany of the very first Xmas
was something mere animal herders were hip to first!"

(Etc.)

DD

PS: if "Noel" comes from a Latin word for "birth", how widely the
Latin sense of "Noel" was known at that time--when the lyric was
written?

~~~~~~

>We're not the only ones who've been wondering.  I=20
>found a number of threads on various user groups=20
>on this, including such remarks as the following:
>
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>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'=20
>as opposed to certain *other* shepherds? Is is an=20
>archaic verb? Is is just the way lyrics are=20
>sometimes?
>
>: : : : : : : This has been preying on my mind=20
>for decades. Some times I wake up and night and=20
>wonder. Many thanks in advance for any insights.
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>When I was a child, the song "The First Noel" had=20
>me thinking that the word "certain" could be a=20
>verb. The line "The first Noel the angels did say=20
>was to certain poor shepherds in fields where=20
>they lay" meant to me that the poor shepherds=20
>were uncertain about something, so the angels=20
>came to "certain" them, that is, to make them=20
>certain.
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>I used to believe "certain" (used as a verb) was=20
>an uber-secret religious ritual performed on=20
>reluctant shepherds. I knew this because it said=20
>so in the song. "The First Noel the Angels did=20
>say, was to certain poor shepherds in field where=20
>they lay."
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>
>I was going to suggest another analysis of that=20
>line, taking "was to certain poor shepherds" to=20
>represent an old dative-possessive construction.=20
>This allows us the retention of the parenthetical=20
>analysis of "the angels did say", viz.
>
>According to what the angels said, the first No=EBl=20
>belonged to certain poor shepherds....
>
>Unlikely (espcially if "No(w)el(l)" really was an=20
>interjection, hence forcing a mention rather than=20
>use interpretation), but perhaps not impossible.
>
>LH
>
>P.S.  I love the "Oh well, oh well" version.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org