Lyrics
In dulci jubilo,
Let us our homage show;
Our heart's joy reclineth
In praesepio,
And like a bright star shineth,
Matris in gremio.
Alpha es et O!
O Jesu parvule,
I yearn for Thee alway;
Hear me, I beseech Thee,
O Puer optime;
My prayer let it reach Thee,
O Princeps gloriae;
Trahe me post te!
O patris caritas!
O Nati lenitas!
Deeply were we stained
Per nostra crimina:
But Thou for us hast gained
Coelorum gaudia,
Qualis gloria!
Ubi sunt gaudia,
If that they be not there?
There are angels singing
Nova cantica;
And there the bells are ringing
In Regis curia.
O that we were there!
Public domain hymn text (14th century; English translation 1837). Traditional carol, English translation by Robert Lucas Pearsall.
The Story Behind the Hymn
'In Dulci Jubilo' is a macaronic carol, deliberately mixing German and Latin within the same lines, with manuscript sources dating to the fourteenth century and tradition attributing it to the mystic Heinrich Seuse.
Its Latin phrases, 'in praesepio' (in the manger), 'matris in gremio' (in the mother's lap), embed concrete Nativity details directly into the German text, readily understood by singers familiar with basic church Latin.
The carol was translated into English in 1837 by Robert Lucas Pearsall, an English composer living in Germany, whose close, singable rendering remains the version most commonly used in English-language carol services today.
Its third verse turns from address to Christ toward a brief theological statement, naming humanity as 'stained' by sin and Christ's coming as the means by which 'heaven's joys' were gained for it regardless.
The carol's final verse pictures heaven directly, with angels singing 'new songs' and bells ringing 'in the King's court,' closing with a plain, wistful wish, 'O that we were there!'
Its distinctive melody, considerably older than most familiar carol tunes, was later used by composers including Johann Sebastian Bach and Michael Praetorius in more elaborate choral and organ settings.
