Hello gramma and thank you for your question.
The carol "Jesus, Jesus rest your head" is an Appalachian carol of the
late eighteen hundreds, and is sometimes attributed as having been
composed by John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980) However it seems (from my
research) that he probably is not the composer of the original carol
but was responsible for 'collecting' it and for possibly transforming
it into the carol we know today.
The line "all the evil folk on earth sleep in feathers at their
birth." (you are correct it is 'in' and not 'on') signifies the
contrast between the evil/wicked ie. mortal man who has an easy time
at birth ie. sleeping in feathers and the good/holy Jesus who has to
sleep in a container intended fo animal feed! It's a bit like saying
"why do bad things happen to nice peole" Often, good people (or so it
seems) seem to have more than the average number of bad things happen
to them.
Here are some sites that will help illustrate my comments above:
A site that claims John Jacob Niles to be the composer.
"Listen: Jesus, Jesus rest your head
Venue: Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah
Composer: John Jacob Niles (1892 - 1980)"
http://www.gohastings.com/catalog/item/item.asp?prodid=134599613
"Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head is an Appalachian carol, contrasting
Jesus' innocence with 'all the evil folk on earth',"
http://www.digitalmediatree.com/arboretum/lullabies/
Another site that claims John Jacob Niles to be the composer.
"Jesus, Jesus, rest your head
Composer: John Jacob Niles
Genre: Vocal"
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1920150957
(You can also buy the carol at the above site)
A site that implies John Jacob Niles was the the composer.
"Terri's haunting vocal style reflected her intense interest in folk
music, especially the music of early America. In a visit to John Jacob
Niles, from whom she sought permission to publish her arrangement of
Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head, she learned how he reshaped the
Appalachian songs he collected, sometimes combining elements of
several songs."
http://alt.venus.co.uk/weed/music/salliterri/obit2.htm
Another site that implies John Jacob Niles was the the composer.
"The repertoire, while largely familiar and resolutely traditional,
contains a few less-heard items (notably John Jacob Niles' "Jesus,
Jesus, Rest Your Head")"
http://216.239.33.100/search?q=cache:uWTafzty2ncC:www.jcarreras.com/articles/2000/etc12182000c.stm++%22John+Jacob+Niles+%22++%22Jesus,+Jesus,+Rest+Your+Head+%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Below are sites (which are in the majority) that claim John Jacob
Niles 'collected' the carol.
"Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head -- An Appalachian carol of the late
eighteen hundreds. Collected by the eminent folklorist John Jacob
Niles."
http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-6671-32EF23C-3854640D-prod4
"Jesus, Jesus, rest your head.
You have got a manger bed.
Traditional Appalachian carol, collected by John Jacob Niles."
http://www.gloriahouston.com/song.html
"Jesus; Jesus, Rest Your Head 2:40
An Appalachian carol of the late eighteen hundreds. Collected by the
eminent folklorist John Jacob Niles."
http://www.a1giftstores.com/easy_listening_cds/december.html
"John Jacob Niles - Biography"
Born: 04/28/1892 in Louisville, KY
Died: 05/01/1980 in Lexington, KY
Nationality: Early American
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=1927001757&clink=dmmu.artist&a=b
"That's why the poor have always heard the story of Jesus as good
news, indeed. John Jacob Niles, the great collector of folk music from
the dirt-poor people of Appalachia, one day heard this little
Christmas tune:
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head,
You has got a manger bed.
All the evil folk on earth
Sleep in feathers at their birth.
Jesus, Jesus rest your head,
You has got a manger bed.
Christmas says the lamb wins. A poor girl bares the son of God.
Valleys are lifted up. One who lies in a manger becomes king. The
stone which the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone. Christmas
proclaims unlikely things. Very good news for us losers."
http://oakchapel.com/Sermon/12_16_01.html
I hesitate a little to add this link, but you can listen to a
'rendition' of the carol here:
http://hometown.aol.com/eloelo/page/index.htm about half way down the
page. However you should note that the carol is in .midi format, so
be prepared for a very digitized version of the tune!
Thank you for the question, and if you need any clarification of my
answer, do not hesitate to ask.
Best regards (and I hope not too early to wish you a happy Christmas!)
THX1138
Search strategy included:
Niles "Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head "
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=++Niles+++%22Jesus%2C+Jesus%2C+Rest+Your+Head+%22&btnG=Google+Search |
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