On the eve of Christmas

On the eve of Christmas. Bemba song, probably late 19th/early 20th century, translated by Arthur Morris Jones* (1899-1980). The Bemba language is a Bantu language spoken in north-eastern Zambia, and also parts of the Congo, Tanzania and Botswana. This carol was translated by Jones, who worked as a missionary at Mapanza, in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He was a musicologist as well as a missionary, and the tune was no doubt provided by him. The carol is a straightforward re-telling of the Christmas story, with the angels appearing to the shepherds (verses 1 and 2), and the shepherds responding by going to the stable and worshipping (verses 3 and 4). Verse 5 is a conclusion,...