O Holy Night - ou est-il?

O Holy Night is one of the best loved Christmas carols of the last 150 years. I currently have a beautiful version by Kerrie Roberts on my iTunes, and it has been covered by everyone from Mariah Carey to Andrea Bocelli.

The song was originally written in French as Cantique de Noel, with music by Adolphe Adam, and words from a poem by wine merchant Placide Cappeau, in 1847.

What is fascinating about the song is the richness of Biblical imagery and ideas in the French version, that gets sadly lost in the English version. I suppose it wouldn't have attained it's great popularity if the lyrics had retained their hard-hitting talk of original sin and the wrath of God!

To compare the French, literal English and popular English texts, go to Wikipedia.com. Just to give you a taster, have a look at this line from the third verse:

French:

Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave :

La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert.

Il voit un frère où n'était qu'un esclave,

L'amour unit ceux qu'enchaînait le fer.

Popular English:

Truly he taught us to love one another,

His law is love and his gospel is peace;

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,

And in his name, all oppression shall cease.

Literal English:

The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:

The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.

He sees a brother where there was only a slave,

Love unites those that iron had chained.

Seems like Placide Cappeau was onto something! In verse 3's talk of liberation from slavery and oppression, which has become so political in our time, we have lost a Christmas reminder of our slavery to sin (Romans 6v17-18), Christ's destruction of the power of sin and death (Colossians 2v13-15), and Jesus Christ gladly considering us his brothers and sisters! (Hebrews 2v10-13).

So, who's going to have a crack at singing the literal words this Christmas?