"Joy to the World" is a popular Christmas carol.[1]
The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. Watts wrote the words of "Joy to the World" as a hymn glorifying Christ's triumphant return at the end of the age,[2] rather than a song celebrating His first coming. Only the second half of Watts' lyrics are still used today.[3]
The music was adapted and arranged to Watts' lyrics by Lowell Mason in 1839 from an older melody which was then believed to have originated from Handel, not least because the theme of the refrain (And heaven and nature sing...) appears in the orchestra opening and accompaniment of the recitative Comfort ye from Handel's Messiah, and the first four notes match the beginning of the choruses Lift up your heads and Glory to God from the same oratorio. However, Handel did not compose the entire tune.[4] The name "Antioch" is generally used for the tune.
As of the late 20th century, "Joy to the World" was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.[1]
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Among the recordings well known in their day is an instrumental version of "Joy to the World" by conductor Percy Faith. First recorded in 1954 on his Music of Christmas LP (Columbia CL 588), it was re-recorded in stereo in 1959 as Columbia 8176.
The popular European group Boney M. covered the song in 1984 which was internationally released in 1986 on their record The 20 Greatest Christmas Songs.
John Rutter arranged the carol in the style of Handel and recorded this arrangement twice with the Cambridge Singers, for their Christmas albums Christmas Star (1983) and Christmas with the Cambridge Singers (1989). His pseudo-Handelian arrangement has also been recorded by other choirs including those of St. Paul's Cathedral and King's College, Cambridge.
In 1965, The Supremes recorded the song for their album Merry Christmas.
Andy Williams recorded the tune in a medium-slow ballad style in his 1974 Christmas Present LP.
Mariah Carey re-recorded this song for her 1994 album Merry Christmas. Carey's version, done in a dance-pop style, combined the chorus (with slightly altered lyrics) of the Hoyt Axton song "Joy to the World" (made popular by Three Dog Night) with the traditional Christmas song. The Jonas Brothers recorded a version of this song called "Joyful Kings" for the 2008 Disney Channel Holiday album All Wrapped Up.
Whitney Houston recorded the song for The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album (1996), and also included it on One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003). Clay Aiken recorded it on his 2004 album Merry Christmas with Love.
Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Note: In the first line of the first verse, "The Lord has come" might seem more natural, but "The Lord is come" is correct. In old English, verbs of movement such as "to go" and "to come" were used with the auxiliary verb "to be" and not the present day auxiliary verb "to have". Students of German will notice that the older forms of English are similar to modern-day German forms, where "I have come" (Ich bin gekommen) is directly translated as "I am come".
In the Latter-day Saint hymnal, the refrain in the first verse is "And Saints and Angels Sing" (see Joy to the World (Phelps)).
Modern recordings, including those aimed at children such as VeggieTales (part of A Very Veggie Christmas) and Disney Sing-Along versions, often omit the third verse.
In the 1970s, a different song of the same title, popularized by the pop group Three Dog Night, resulted in occasional recordings in which the pop song's lyrics and melody were combined with that of the carol. Such mixtures have been recorded by Mariah Carey as well as Chuck Negron.
Joy to the World, Our Teacher's Dead is a schoolchildren's parody of this song.
In the sitcom Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen sang a parody of the song with sexual dialogue causing a rebuke from the American Family Association. [5]
An album of punk rock band The Vandals, consisting of several Christmas themed songs, is called Oi To The World! and was released in 1996.
"Death to the World" was included in the album of parody carols An Even Scarier Solstice by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
| "Joy To The World" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Mariah Carey | |
| from the album Merry Christmas | |
| Released | November 1994 |
| Format | Promotional Single, CD single |
| Genre | Pop, R&B |
| Length | 4:21 |
| Label | Sony Music |
| Writer(s) | George Frideric Handel, Lowell Mason, Isaac Watts, Chris Tomlin |
| Producer | Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff |
"Joy To The World" was first released as a promo only in November 1994. A year later, it was released as a commercial single in Australia. There were several club mixes made of the song, and a remix video was shot.
Australia 5" CD-Single
USA 5" CD-Single
USA 12" vinyl maxi-single
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Dance Club Play | 16 |
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
| Australian Singles Chart[6] | 33 |