Most Christmas songs are pretty straightforward. It’s fairly clear what songs like “Silver Bells,” “Let It Snow,” and “O Christmas Tree” are all about. But there is one traditional song that perplexes even native speakers with its unusual vocabulary, and that’s “Deck the Halls.” Let’s take a look at the lyrics and make some sense of this classic Christmas carol.

Deck (verb used with object) – to decorate or clothe something

While this song is about decorating the halls for Christmas, “deck” is used more commonly with the preposition “out” to talk about being dressed up.

Example: Wow! You’re all decked out in a tuxedo! Where are you going?

‘Tis – a contraction of “it is”

While English has a lot of contractions, this one has fallen out of use. Now we just use “it’s.”

Example from Shakespeare: “Alas! ‘Tis true I have gone here and there.”

Don (verb) – to put on

“Don we now our gay apparel” = “Let’s put on some cheerful clothes.” (For Christmas, of course!) “Don” is not that unusual of a verb; it just sounds especially strange because the subject and the verb are reversed in this song.

Example: He donned his uniform for the military ball.

Troll (verb) – to sing loudly

When we hear the word “troll,” we think of the creature that lives under a bridge or a person who makes harassing comments on the internet. But in the line “troll the ancient Yuletide carol,” it’s talking about singing. This is not a very commonly used verb.

Example: If you hear people trolling loudly, it’s because there is a choir practice going on next door.

Yuletide (adjective) – relating to the Christmas season

Yule was a pagan winter festival celebrated by pre-Christian Germanic people. With the rise of Christianity, “Yule” and “Yuletide” became synonymous with “Christmas.” The line about “see the blazing Yule before us” refers to a special Christmas log.

Example: Have a happy Yuletide season!

Measure (noun) – a line of written music

“Follow me in merry measure” is way to say “Sing with me!” While this sentence has an odd construction, “measure” is used very often when talking about sheet music.

Example: Let’s practice those four measures of the song.

Hail (verb) – to greet or salute

In the line “Hail the new,” it’s talking about greeting the new year. Don’t forget that song lyrics have a tendency to drop words to make them fit the music. Nowadays, “hail” is used more commonly to express approval.

Example: Citizens hailed the president’s decision to cut taxes.

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