"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"

"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", sometimes called "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" was an ancient Earth Christmas carol. The lyrics were:

God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay

For Jesus Christ our saviour was born upon this day

To save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy

Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. (AUDIO: Voyage to Venus)

It was this song that was being played by a group of robotic Santas before they attacked Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith on Earth. (TV: The Christmas Invasion) The Santas also played it just before abducting Donna Noble in a taxi. (TV: The Runaway Bride)

A group of children were singing this song when the Tenth Doctor arrived in London on Christmas Eve 1851, just before his encounter with Jackson Lake, Rosita, and the Cybermen. (TV: The Next Doctor)

The song was also playing before Wilfred Mott entered a church commemorating "the Sainted Physician" where he first met the woman. It was also played by a brass band shortly before the Tenth Doctor regenerated. (TV: The End of Time)

A group of carol singers sang "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" outside Maisie Johnson's house. (PROSE: The Gift)

Carol singers sang "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" in Cardiff on Christmas Eve 1869. (TV: The Unquiet Dead)

The melody of the carol was the same as that of the "Venusian lullaby" occasionally used by the Third Doctor to lull his foes into a state of tranquility. (TV: The Dæmons, The Curse of Peladon, PROSE: Venusian Lullaby) Henry Gordon Jago and George Litefoot sang the song to a herd of Shanghorn on Venus to stop them from stampeding. After hearing the song, Ursina planned to change the lyrics and use it as the basis of the lullaby. (AUDIO: Voyage to Venus)

Professor Capra sang a version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" to himself. (AUDIO: Flip-Flop)