We Three Kings

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verse = \lyricmode {

We three kings of O -- ri -- ent are,

Field and foun -- tain, Moor and moun -- tain,

Fol -- low -- ing yon -- der star.

O star of won -- der, star of night,

West -- ward lead -- ing,

Still pro -- ceed -- ing,

Guide us to Thy per -- fect light.

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verseR = \lyricmode { % This is a terrible hack to get the lyrics aligned.

Bear -- ing gifts we tra -- verse a -- far,

"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" Star with roy -- al beau -- ty bright,

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:Source

John Henry Hopkins Jr. organized the carol in such a way that three male voices would each sing a solo verse in order to correspond with the three kings.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OSuXAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA436|title=The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3d ed.|publisher=McFarland|date=August 30, 2013|last=Crump|first=William D.|pages=436–437|isbn=9781476605739}} The first and last verses of the carol are sung together by all three as "verses of praise", while the intermediate verses are sung individually with each king describing the gift he was bringing.{{cite news|title=The Stories Behind The Songs|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RO&p_theme=ro&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAEA366CA791B4F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|date=December 24, 1993|access-date=December 27, 2013|page=NRV5|first=Cody|last=Lowe|newspaper=The Roanoke Times}} {{subscription required}} The refrain proceeds to praise the beauty of the Star of Bethlehem.{{cite news|title=Carol singing popular tradition|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ceJUAAAAIBAJ&pg=972,5442230&dq=we+three+kings+carol&hl=en|date=December 24, 1966|access-date=December 26, 2013|page=6|first=Ruth|last=Willson|newspaper=The Leader-Post|location=Regina}} The Magi's solos are typically not observed during contemporary performances of the carol.

The carol's melody has been described as "sad" and "shifting" in nature.{{cite news|title=Caroling Into Christmas Insurance Salesmen, Teachers Had A Hand In Writing Songs|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F78E92BC211BE51&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|date=December 19, 1993|access-date=December 27, 2013|page=G1|first=Mike|last=Dunham|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News}} {{subscription required}} Because of this, it highly resembles a song from the Middle Ages and Middle Eastern music, both of which it has been frequently compared to.

The carol centres around the Biblical Magi, who visited Jesus as a child in a manger ({{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=1}}) sometime after his Nativity and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh while paying homage to him. Though the event is recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, there are no further details given in the New Testament with regards to their names, the number of Magi that were present or whether they were even royal.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NlbGbPk9zBUC&pg=PA65|title=A Book of Feasts and Seasons|publisher=Gracewing Publishing|year=1992|last=Bogle|first=Joanna|pages=65|isbn=9780852442173}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=43W_cwcQJQIC&pg=PA36|title=The Christmas Carolers' Book in Song and Story|publisher=Alfred Music Publishing|date=March 1, 1985|page=36|isbn=9781457466618}} There are, however, verses in the Old Testament that foretell of the visitors: Isaiah 60:6: "The wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you. The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news of the praises of the Lord." (New American Standard Bible), and two selections from the Psalms – Psalm 72:10: "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall pay tribute, and the kings of Arabia and Saba offer gifts" and Psalm 72:15: "...and may there be given to him gold from Arabia" (New American Standard Bible). Hence, the names of the Magi—Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar—and their status as kings from the Orient are legendary and based on tradition. The number three stems from the fact that there were three separate gifts that were given.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ke_dH6P1mQMC&pg=PA97|title=Joy to the World!: The Stories Behind Your Favorite Christmas Carols|publisher=Kregel Publications|year=1999|last=Osbeck|first=Kenneth W.|page=97|isbn=9780825434310}} The solo verses and final verse make explicit a tradition according to which the three gifts symbolize three aspects of Jesus, as "King" (gold, representing wealth and power) and "God" (incense, representing worship) and "sacrifice" (myrrh, used to embalm the dead).

At the time he was writing "We Three Kings" in 1857, John Henry Hopkins Jr. was serving as the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.{{cite news|title=Bethlehem Inspired American To Write Famous Carol|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RK4rAAAAIBAJ&pg=6263,5398644&dq=john+henry+hopkins+jr+we+three+kings&hl=en|date=December 22, 1959|access-date=December 26, 2013|page=13|first=Hugh A.|last=Mulligan|newspaper=The Telegraph|location=Nashua, New Hampshire}} Although he originally worked as a journalist for a New York newspaper and studied to become a lawyer,{{cite news|title=Christmas Classics|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nKk0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5265,7059692&dq=we+three+kings+carol&hl=en|date=December 19, 2005|access-date=December 28, 2013|page=6|first=Neil|last=Pond|newspaper=McCook Daily Gazette}} he chose to join the clergy upon graduating from the University of Vermont.{{cite news|title=Stories Behind The Hymns – We Three Kings|url=http://www.gaffneyledger.com/news/2007-11-30/lifestyles/039.html|date=November 30, 2007|access-date=December 28, 2013|first=Warren|last=Shiver|newspaper=The Gaffney Ledger}} Hopkins studied at the General Theological Seminary in New York City and after graduating and being ordained a deacon in 1850, he became its first music teacher five years later, holding the post until 1857 alongside his ministry in the Episcopal Church.

During his final year of teaching at the seminary, Hopkins wrote "We Three Kings" for a Christmas pageant held at the college.{{cite news|title=Creation of classics|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0gpFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1972,4258244&dq=john+henry+hopkins+jr+we+three+kings&hl=en|date=December 25, 2006|access-date=December 26, 2013|page=6B|first=Cathy|last=Higgins|newspaper=The Albany Herald}} It was noteworthy that Hopkins composed both the lyrics and music; contemporary carol composers usually wrote either the lyrics or music but not both.{{cite news|title=The origins of Christmas Songs|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8L4yAAAAIBAJ&pg=3078,5536068&dq=we+three+kings&hl=en|date=December 19, 1986|access-date=December 26, 2013|page=H1|first=Mike|last=Flanagan|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen}} Originally titled "Three Kings of Orient", it was sung within his circle of family and friends. Because of the popularity it achieved among them, Hopkins decided to publish the carol in 1863 in his book Carols, Hymns, and Songs.{{cite book|last=Hopkins|first=John Henry Jr.|author-link=John Henry Hopkins Jr.|title=Carols, Hymns, and Songs|chapter=Three Kings of Orient|pages=12–13|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/carolshym00hopk/page/n19/mode/2up|year=1863|publisher=Church Book Depository|location=New York City}} It was the first Christmas carol originating from the United States to achieve widespread popularity, as well as the first to be featured in Christmas Carols Old and New,{{clarify|date=December 2022|reason=The source, Mike Flanagan at the Ottawa Citizen, may be mistaken as no such book can be found.}} a collection of carols that was published in the United Kingdom. In 1916, the carol was printed in the hymnal for the Episcopal Church; that year's edition was the first to have a separate section for Christmas songs. "We Three Kings" was also included in The Oxford Book of Carols published in 1928, which praised the song as "one of the most successful of modern composed carols".

Jazz, rock, and reggae musicians recorded "We Three Kings".

• Percy Faith (1958)[https://www.percyfaith.info/discography/original/Hallelujah Percy Faith discography]
• Ramsey Lewis (1964)[https://www.ramseylewis.com/discography Ramsey Lewis discography]
• The Beach Boys (1964){{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000041748|title=The Beach Boys' Christmas Album|author=Jason Birchmeier}}
• Jethro Tull (2003) "We Five Kings"{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000318223|title=The Jethro Tull Christmas Album|author=Dave Sleger}}
• Blondie (2009){{YouTube|title=Blondie – "We Three Kings" music video|id=r0h-GNWvKDE}}

In the televised cartoon A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987), the Three Kings sing the verses in traditional choral style, while their camels perform the chorus as a doo-wop song. Credits for the singers are not available.

Since the 1950s, the carol has been frequently parodied by children. The subject of the lyrics vary widely depending upon the region, with references to smoking explosive rubber cigars, selling counterfeit lingerie, or travelling to an Irish bar by taxi, car, and scooter.{{Cite book |last=Bronner |first=Simon J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHfVZFl4JTIC&pg=PA254|title=American Children's Folklore |date=1988 |publisher=August House |isbn=978-0-87483-068-2 |page=254}}{{Cite book |last=Kelsey |first=N. G. N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3HSKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA418|title=Games, Rhymes, and Wordplay of London Children |date=2019-02-26 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-02910-4 |page=418}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.childofthe1980s.com/2009/12/23/playground-christmas-carols/ |title=Child of the 80s |access-date=2021-02-06 |archive-date=2021-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128112345/http://www.childofthe1980s.com/2009/12/23/playground-christmas-carols/ |url-status=dead }}

• List of Christmas carols

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book|title=The Book of World Famous Music Classical, Popular and Folk|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofworldfamou00fuld|url-access=registration|first=James|last=Fuld|year=1966|location=New York|publisher=Crown Publishers|ref=none}}

• {{ChoralWiki|work=We three kings of Orient are (John Henry Hopkins, Jr.)|"We Three Kings of Orient Are" (John Henry Hopkins Jr.)|prep=of}}
• [http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/we_three_kings_of_orient_are.htm "We Three Kings of Orient Are"], images of early editions of the carol and historical information, hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com
• [http://cantorion.org/musicsearch/title/We%20Three%20Kings Sheet music], Cantorion.org

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Category:Christmas carols

Category:Songs about kings

Category:American Christmas songs

Category:Biblical Magi in music

Category:Epiphany music

Category:Songs about Bethlehem