Last Friday night, I went to a Christmas concert for the Sonoran Desert Chorale. On one hand, it was nice to hear an actual Christmas concert and not some watered-down “holiday” celebration. Most of the pieces were of the Christmas/Jesus/Bethlehem variety, rather than the snow/winter/Frosty kind.

That said, I was disappointed that they didn’t honor my own heritage with a Festivus song or two. How dare?

Anyway, one of the best parts about the SDC’s Christmas concerts are the Christmas carol sing-alongs they always have near the end. They print the lyrics in the program and everybody stands up and gets into the action. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when I discovered that whoever put together the program decided that certain Christmas carols were not quite politically correct enough for modern sensibilities.

The most egregious changes were in “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Interesting historical note: the lyrics of this traditional carol were written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), the brother of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church. (That’s why Methodists are called Wesleyans, in case you’re curious.) The concert was held in Mesa’s First United Methodist Church, although I have my doubts that this particular facility is the actual honest-to-goodness first United Methodist Church.

The music, in case anyone cares, was written by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847).

Anyway, I thought it was ironic that the lyrics written by the brother of Mr. Methodism had been changed for a performance in a Methodist house of worship.

Two altered lines in the program caught my eye:

Traditional: “born that man no more may die”
Rewritten: “born that we no more may die”

Traditional: “born to raise the sons of earth, born to give us second birth”
Rewritten: “born to raise us from the earth, born to give them second birth.”

I was ready for the changes because I had actually noticed them in the program during intermission. I was totally ready to conform to the weaselly changes (I know, I know), but then a wonderful thing happened. Almost everybody in the audience ignored the changes and just sang the traditional lyrics anyway. It was Whoville all over again, though I don’t know whether the Grinch who rewrote “Hark!” was paying attention from up there on Mount Crumpit.

Here’s a little suggestion to people who want to make changes to the lyrics of our favorite Christmas carols in the name of political correctness. Before you do this, first look up at the top of the sheet music to where it lists the lyricist and/or composer. If the person listed has been dead for over 100 years, don’t change the lyrics. If, instead of a person’s name, it says something like “TRADITIONAL,” that’s a pretty good hint that the song is a traditional one. Don’t mess with it!