Angels We Have Heard on High is a Christmas carol based on a traditional French carol, Les Anges dans nos campagnes, put into English by James Chadwick, a Catholic bishop in northern England, in 1862. Its famous refrain, Gloria in excelsis Deo, is Latin for the first line of the angels' song in Luke: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). The verses follow the shepherds from the fields, where the angel brought "good tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10), to the manger. The words and tune are in the public domain.
Angels We Have Heard on High is the carol everyone waits to sing for one word: Gloria, stretched over sixteen notes that rise and fall like voices echoing between mountains. Children love it, choirs love it, and congregations who struggle with other carols find themselves singing it with full voice. Underneath the joy is a simple story told as a conversation. We hear the angels, we ask the shepherds what the celebration is about, they tell us to come and see, and the carol ends at the manger. Below are the four verses, what Gloria in excelsis Deo means, the history of the French original, and 12 KJV verses behind the words. For more of the angels' part in Christmas, see Hark the Herald Angels Sing and the angel Gabriel.
Angels We Have Heard on High: the words
Verse 1
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Verse 2
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Verse 3
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Verse 4
See Him in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Words: English paraphrase by James Chadwick, Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle (1862), of the traditional French carol Les Anges dans nos campagnes (first printed with music in 1842). Tune: Gloria, a traditional French melody. Public domain. Some books print heavenly songs in verse 2 and our heart in verse 4; the harmony in many American hymnals is a later arrangement by Edward Shippen Barnes, and arrangements may be under copyright.
Sweetly singing o'er the plains (verse 1)
1. Luke 2:14
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Gloria in excelsis Deo is the angels' song in Latin, the words of Luke 2:14 in the Vulgate, the Latin Bible used in the Western church for a thousand years. In the King James Version it reads: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The song has two halves. First, glory goes up to God in the highest heaven. Then peace comes down to earth. The birth of Jesus does both at once: it shows God's glory and brings God's peace. Since the early church, the Gloria has been sung in Christian worship as one of the oldest hymns.
2. Isaiah 55:12
"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
And the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains. The carol imagines creation answering the angels, an idea the prophets loved. Isaiah promised that when God redeemed His people, nature itself would celebrate: For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. The hills around Bethlehem are the stage of the carol. When the Savior came, it was as if the mountains could not keep quiet. See Bible verses about joy.
3. Psalms 98:4
"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."
Sweetly singing: the angels' song is a model for ours. Psalm 98, which Isaac Watts turned into Joy to the World, calls the whole earth to join in: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Joyful noise is a comfort to anyone who thinks they cannot sing. God asks for joy, not perfection. The long Gloria of the refrain is hard to sing quietly, and that is the point: some news is too good for a whisper. See Joy to the World.
4. Isaiah 52:7
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
The plains and mountains of the carol recall one of Isaiah's best-loved verses: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! In Isaiah's day, a runner crossing the hills with news of victory was a welcome sight. At Bethlehem the messengers came from heaven, and the news was the best ever told: peace, salvation, and God reigning. Paul quotes this verse about everyone who shares the gospel (Romans 10:15).
Shepherds, why this jubilee? (verse 2)
5. Luke 2:10
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
Verse 2 asks the shepherds, What the gladsome tidings be? The answer is the angel's message: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Tidings means news, and gladsome means joyful. The news began with Fear not, because the shepherds were terrified. It was great joy, not a small comfort. And it was for all people, not only for Israel or for religious leaders. That is why the shepherds' jubilee could not be contained. See Bible verses about angels.
6. Leviticus 25:10
"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family."
Shepherds, why this jubilee? Jubilee is a Bible word. Every fiftieth year in Israel was to be a year of release: And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. Debts were canceled, slaves freed and land returned. Jesus later read from Isaiah 61 about proclaiming liberty and the acceptable year of the Lord, and said it was fulfilled in Him (Luke 4:18-21). The shepherds' jubilee was the start of the true one.
7. Luke 2:17-18
"And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds."
Why your joyous strains prolong? The shepherds did not stop talking about what they had seen: And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. The first people to spread the news of Jesus' birth were not priests or scholars but working men who could not keep it to themselves. The carol asks why they are still singing. The answer is that good news is meant to be passed on.
8. Isaiah 40:9
"O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!"
The heavenly song in verse 2 echoes Isaiah's call to tell the good news from the heights: O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold your God is the heart of Christmas. The shepherds were told where to find Him, and they found God in a manger. Isaiah 40 goes on to describe the Lord as a shepherd who gathers the lambs (Isaiah 40:11), which shepherds would have loved to hear.
Come to Bethlehem and see (verses 3-4)
9. Luke 2:16
"And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."
Come to Bethlehem and see. The shepherds obeyed the angels' message at once: And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. They found exactly what they were told they would find. Verse 3 of the carol invites us to make the same trip in our hearts, and verse 4 shows us the same scene: See Him in a manger laid. Faith is not only hearing the news. It is coming to see for yourself who Jesus is. See the Christmas story in the Bible.
10. Romans 14:11
"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Kneeling is the posture of worship before a king. Paul quotes Isaiah 45:23 about the day when all people will bow before God: For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. In Isaiah, these words are spoken by the LORD. In Philippians 2:10, Paul applies the same words to Jesus. The shepherds knelt willingly at the manger. The carol invites us to bow now, gladly, before the King.
11. Matthew 1:24-25
"Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid. The carol asks Mary and Joseph to help us praise the child they cared for. Joseph's part is easy to overlook, but Matthew tells it: Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. Joseph obeyed quickly and quietly, protected Mary, and named the child as he was told. His faithfulness is a model for anyone who serves Jesus in hidden ways. See Mary, the mother of Jesus.
12. Revelation 5:13
"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."
Whom the choirs of angels praise, while our hearts in love we raise. The carol ends with heaven and earth singing together, and so does the Bible. John heard every creature in the universe joining the angels: Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. The baby in the manger is the Lamb on the throne. The Gloria that began over the fields of Bethlehem will be sung forever. Every time we sing this carol, we join that song early.
A short prayer
Glory to God in the highest! Father, thank You for the good tidings of great joy that are for all people, and for me. Like the shepherds, I want to come with haste and see Jesus, and then tell others what I have seen. Lord Jesus, newborn King, I bow before You and worship You. Let my heart join the choirs of angels, and let my life be a joyful song of praise. Give me the courage to lift up my voice and say, Behold your God. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Gloria in excelsis Deo mean?
It is Latin for Glory to God in the highest. These are the first words of the angels' song in Luke 2:14, as they read in the Latin Vulgate Bible. The full verse in the KJV is Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The words have been sung in Christian worship for many centuries as the hymn called the Gloria.
Who wrote Angels We Have Heard on High?
The English words are a paraphrase by James Chadwick (1813-1882), the Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle in England, published in 1862. He based them on a traditional French carol, Les Anges dans nos campagnes, The angels in our countryside. The French words were first printed with music in 1842, and the author of the French original is unknown.
Is Angels We Have Heard on High in the public domain?
Yes. Chadwick's English words (1862) and the traditional French melody called Gloria are in the public domain. Some hymnal harmonizations, such as the one by Edward Shippen Barnes, and modern arrangements and recordings may be under copyright, but the words and the tune itself are free to sing, print and share.
What Bible passage is Angels We Have Heard on High based on?
The carol is based on Luke 2:8-20: the angels appearing to the shepherds near Bethlehem, their song of Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14), and the shepherds going to find the baby in the manger (Luke 2:15-16). The words about mountains echoing the song recall Isaiah 55:12 and Isaiah 52:7.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Christmas · Angels · Hark the Herald Angels Sing · O Come, All Ye Faithful · Silent Night · The angel Gabriel · The Christmas story in the Bible · Joy
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