VerseNotes Out Loud

For Christmas Day, instead of a new reflection, I want to read you something I wrote ten years ago. It’s a story about waiting—about how long God’s promises can feel, and how thin hope can wear. Support VerseNotes Transcript

A Christmas carol that starts like a cannon blast, “Joy to the World” releases all the build-up from Advent into an overwhelming chorus of joy. Listen to the Carol BYU Combined Choirs and BYU Philharmonic - Joy to the World Mariah Carey - Joy to the World Soundiva Classical Choir - Joy to the World (a cappella) Mannheim Steamroller - Joy to the World (instrumental) More Notes About Adv...

A song that brings Advent anticipation into the present day, “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” refuses to rush us to Christmas morning. Listen to the Carol The Hound + The Fox - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear Ella Fitzgerald - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

The second Christmas carol to make us care about punctuation, “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” is not about cheerful festivity but about eternal freedom from fear. Listen to the Carol London Symphony Orchestra - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Barenaked Ladies - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings Mannheim Steamroller - God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (instrumental) More Notes About Adv...

“Go Tell It On the Mountain” brings the Great Commission right into the manger scene. Listen to the Carol Dolly Parton - Go Tell It On the Mountain (verses 1 & 2) Francesca Battistelli - Go Tell It On the Mountain (verse 1 & 3) More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

Two Christmas songs for children that make us ask how we respond to Christmas: “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (yes, really) and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Listen to the Songs Gene Autry - Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear? More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

A carol that, rather than telling the Christmas story, invites us into it, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” is an Advent pilgrimage. Listen to the Carol King’s College Choir - O Come, All Ye Faithful Luciano Pavarotti - Adeste, Fideles Harpa Dei - Adeste, Fideles More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

An Epiphany carol that gets two-thirds of its own title wrong, “We Three Kings” is nonetheless a mainstay of Christmas music and invites us to explore where our own ideas of Christmas come from. Listen to the Carol We Are Messengers - We Three Kings More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

“The First Noël” speed-runs two different gospels, adds some confused astronomy, cultural imperialism, and some how finishes with Revelation, Creation, and the cross, all in one breath. Listen to the Carol Brett Eldridge - The First Noel The Hound + the Fox - The First Noel Lady A - The First Note More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

A Christmas carol that forces us to care about punctuation, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” tells us the story of all of history, gives a summary of the incarnation, summarizes an intense theology lesson, and presents the entire gospel all in one. Listen to the Carol Wheaton College Choirs and Symphony Orchestra - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Arr. Willcocks) More Notes About Advent of...

Three Christmas carols about singing Christmas carols: “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!”, “He Is Born”, and “Sing We Now of Christmas”. Listen to the Songs Dominican Friars - Good Christian Men, Rejoice! King’s College Choir - In Dulci Jubilo (Pearsall) Lexi Walker - Il Est Né le Divin Enfant USC Thornton Chamber Singers - He Is Born The Prestonwood Choir &...

A Christmas carol double-header starring angels… many, many angels: “Angels We Have Heard On High” and “Angels From the Realms of Glory”. Listen to the Songs The Petersens - Angels We Have Heard On High The Piano Guys - Angels From the Realms of Glory More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

Three pop Christmas classics—Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” and Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby”—become a surprisingly clear window into three Christmas postures: longing, heartbreak, and greed. Listen to the Songs Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You Wham! - Last Christmas Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNote...

A hymn that asks big questions and then helpfully answers them right in the text, “What Child Is This?” declares that this child is indeed Christ the King, even if it is set to Greensleeves. Listen to the Carol Josh Groban - What Child Is This? Trans-Siberian Orchestra - What Child Is This? More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

A straightforward poem that turned into a French revolutionary anthem, “O Holy Night” is one of the greatest vocal showcases of Advent and also a rich, biblical, bold hymn. Listen to the Carol King’s College Choir - O Holy Night (all verses) Chris Tomlin with CeCe Williams - O Holy Night (verses 1 and 3 only) Mariah Carey - O Holy Night (verse 1 only) More Notes About Advent of C...

We visit “Silent Night”, the candlelit hymn usually reserved for Christmas Eve, and sit with its quiet picture of Bethlehem’s night—stars, shepherds, and the holy child—letting it invite us right into the story. Listen to the Carol Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Silent Night More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

We turn to two almost-lullabies—“Away in a Manger” and “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”—simple cradle songs whose easy words and gentle melodies draw us into the humble, lowly nearness of God in a manger. Listen to the Carol Faith Hill - Away In A Manger BYU Vocal Point - Infant Holy, Infant Lowly More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

The Christmas carol version of Micah 5:2, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” puts us in the fields with the shepherds to see the movement of God not just in history but in us. Listen to the Carol Elvis Presley - O Little Town of Bethlehem Elvis Presley & Karen Fairchild/Kimberly Schlapman - O Little Town of Bethlehem More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

Originally written for a single church’s Christmas play, “Mary, Did You Know?” is one of the most-covered modern Christmas songs and one of the most deeply Scriptural. Listen to the Carol Pentatonix - Mary, Did You Know? More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

Not every Christmas song is Christian—or even very Christmas. Today we look at two popular December tunes that don’t fit the season: Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and “Happy XMas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Listen to the Songs John Cale - Hallelujah John Lennon and Yoko Ono - Happy XMas (War Is Over) More Notes About Advent of Carols Support Verse...

“Coventry Carol” is easily the saddest song in the Advent canon. The reason we sing it today is even sadder still. But it’s one of the prettiest, and it reminds us what we’re waiting for. Listen to the Carol Loreena McKennitt - Coventry Carol Kingston Trio - Coventry Carol More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

An American Civil War poem dressed up as a Christmas carol, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is nothing like you think. Listen to the Carol Bing Crosby - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Casting Crowns - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

A simplistic poem by a little-known author, set to music by none other than Gustav Holst. “In the Bleak Midwinter” teaches us to look for Advent theology in even the most basic carols. Listen to the Carol Tenebrae Choir - In the Bleak Midwinter More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

A tune without a time signature, an unsingable poem, and a name for Jesus—Rose—not found in the Bible. Somehow, the hauntingly beautiful “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” has become a Christmas mainstay. Listen to the Carol Sting - Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming More Notes About Advent of Carols Support VerseNotes Transcript

An eighth-century German prayer set to a fifteenth-century French tune, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is perhaps the most Advent-y of all Advent hymns with its seven names of Jesus. Listen to the Hymn Simon Khorolskiy - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Mannheim Steamroller - Veni, Veni, Emmanuel Skillet - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel The Piano Guys - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Instrumental) More Notes...