Photo by Hombre
This review is upon request. To submit a song for review, contact me.
Scottish musician and lyricist Thomas Oliphant is famous for three things:
- He wrote the chorale for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra’s marriage ceremony.
- He “translated” existing songs in foreign languages, knowing little to nothing about said languages. This seems especially surprising, given that Oliphant often wrote music for royal events.
- He wrote Deck the Halls, originally titled as “Deck the Hall” as an “interpretation” of the Welsh song Nos Gallen. Given that this is not truly a translation, we can treat his lyrics as original content and treat it as such.
He also became a member of the Madrigal Society, eventually becoming its Honorary Secretary, Vice-President, then President.
NOTE: For this review, I will examine and score the original song by Oliphant. I will also provide commentary on the modern version throughout my review, without affecting its score.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
To what reason do we decorate our house? What is it about this season that makes us happy, that we should drink (or wear joyous outfits), sing carols, and play the harp? Why is Christmas a reason to laugh, to pair with “Happy new year” and ignore the weather outside? It is about the “beauty treasure” that Oliphant speaks, clarified as “Christmas treasure” by the Pennsylvania School Journal. It is about Christ’s birth, communicated in song to those who join in. However, this is easy to miss without this clarification.
The repeated Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! is fun filler that comes and goes quickly.
Score: 8/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
As mentioned in section 1, the centrality of his Christmas observance is Jesus’ birth. The way in which he chooses to celebrate is not unbiblical, well within the words of Paul in Romans 14:1-12.
This song is public domain.
[Verse 1]
Deck the hall with boughs of holly
That is, to decorate one’s own house. I initially considered this unbiblical under the guise of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die” (Isaiah 22:13, Proverbs 23:35, Luke 12:19, and 1 Corinthians 15:32); However, as we will read later, Oliphant does not provide us with aimless celebration. The decision to deck one’s halls or not falls under Romans 14:1-23.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Borrowed from a traditional, secular form called “Madrigals”, which sets poetry to music without musical instruments. They often include accompaniments, which act as vocal breaks in between sung verses. One such accompaniment is “Fa, la, la”.
‘Tis the season to be jolly
That is, the Christmas season.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel
Mead is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water. Though drinking is not inherently sinful, drunkenness is (Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 23:29-35, Isaiah 5:11-17, 1 Corinthians 6:10, Galatians 5:21, Ephesians 5:18, and 1 Peter 5:8). I don’t suspect that this line promotes drinking to excess, but is part of the Christmas jubilee.
There is an alternative version that says Don we now our gay apparel. This is an attempt to remove drinking references. Rather than consuming fermented honey, we should instead put on our happy outfits! After all, joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22).
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Troul the ancient Christmas carol
To troul is to sing. Some versions say yuletide carol instead of Christmas carol. Regardless, part of the celebration is to sing old Christmas songs. Recursively, Deck the Hall is one of them! This is not unbiblical.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
[Verse 2]
See the flowing bowl before us
See commentary on Verse 1, line 5. An alternative version uses blazing yule instead of flowing bowl. This is another attempt to remove drinking references.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Strike the harp and join the chorus
That is, Oliphant’s call to celebrate with singing and musical instruments. Psalm 150:1-5 gives us a precedent for using musical instruments to praise God.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Follow me in merry measure
Another call to join in the party.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
While I sing of beauty’s treasure
What is beauty’s treasure? An alternative version says Christmas treasure, a likely reference to the birth of Jesus (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26-38, and Matthew 1:18-25).
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
[Verse 3]
Fast away the old year passes
An experiential expression of “I can’t believe it’s Christmas already! Where has the time gone?”
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses!
Happy new year boys and girls! This is often paired with merry Christmas.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Laughing, quaffing all together
Laughter is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22).
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Heedless of the wind and weather
Figuratively, the celebration is so joyous that a hurricane or blizzard would go unnoticed.
Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
Repeats Verse 1, line 2.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
I have no doubt that those outside the camp of Christ will understand this song as Christmas celebration. What most will probably miss is the centrality of Jesus as the “reason for the season” espoused at the end of Verse 2, especially if they hear the original “beauty’s” or modern “yuletide” treasure, as opposed to “Christmas” treasure. This explains why secular radio stations have little issue playing this tune.
Score: 7/10
4. What does this song glorify?
Though it does glorify Jesus in its message, it is somewhat hidden without clarification.
Score: 8/10
Closing Comments
I initially agreed to review Thomas Oliphant’s Deck the Halls because I thought it promoted consumerism; However, the more I mulled over his lyrics, the more I realized that it celebrates the birth of Jesus, glorifying Him. This message might be harder to ascertain based on the original lyrics, as opposed to Pennsylvania School Journal’s version.
Should we worship with this song? No, I do not think we should. This song is about celebration in the context of homes, not corporate worship. Let us consider other Christmas songs for church services.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Artist Info
Track: Deck the Halls (listen to a modernized version of this song)
Artist: Thomas Oliphant
Album: N/A
Genre: Christmas, Hymn
Release Year: 1862
Duration: N/A
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
Comments
racefangurl
I just saw it as a Christmas song and until tonight missed any real reason references in it. Thought the treasure might be gifts, if I picked up on the word at all.