Merry Gentlemen
So, I'm re-ripping most of my holiday CDs to FLAC, and in so doing, I have noticed these three versions of a popular Christmas carol's title on different albums:
The second version moves the comma one word to the right, cleaving the adjective Merry from Gentlemen and attaching it to Ye instead. In this case we have no way of knowing if the Gentlemen in question are currently Merry or simply Apathetic, Melancholic, or even Depraved! But, we do know that the speaker wants the Gentlemen to die happy, or perhaps in the case of a less strong "Rest" delivered from On High, simply to sleep well and to dream of large women.
The third version is bold in its attempt to subvert the paradox engendered in the first two versions, namely, where does the comma go and what does it mean; however, the result is a bland, toneless word dirge marching across the page with little character. Apologies if this is the version that appears in your bulletin's sing-along copy, but one cannot escape the need for a comma by ignoring it! :-)
Now, an even harder problem: What to do with the track names? Should they remain true to the jacket, typos and all? (Here we can add to the list of troublesome tracks: "Silent Night! Holy Night!" and the various versions of "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.") Or, as the digital librarian is inclined, should they be standardized on a single name for easier database administration?
I think I'll sleep on it.
- God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
- God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The second version moves the comma one word to the right, cleaving the adjective Merry from Gentlemen and attaching it to Ye instead. In this case we have no way of knowing if the Gentlemen in question are currently Merry or simply Apathetic, Melancholic, or even Depraved! But, we do know that the speaker wants the Gentlemen to die happy, or perhaps in the case of a less strong "Rest" delivered from On High, simply to sleep well and to dream of large women.
The third version is bold in its attempt to subvert the paradox engendered in the first two versions, namely, where does the comma go and what does it mean; however, the result is a bland, toneless word dirge marching across the page with little character. Apologies if this is the version that appears in your bulletin's sing-along copy, but one cannot escape the need for a comma by ignoring it! :-)
Now, an even harder problem: What to do with the track names? Should they remain true to the jacket, typos and all? (Here we can add to the list of troublesome tracks: "Silent Night! Holy Night!" and the various versions of "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.") Or, as the digital librarian is inclined, should they be standardized on a single name for easier database administration?
I think I'll sleep on it.