#14 most-searched carol in the US · 1862
Angels We Have Heard on High: the story behind the carol
Also known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes
🏡 Great for caroling⛪ Church & choir🎤 Everyone knows it
- Words
- French traditional; English by James Chadwick (1862)
- Music
- French traditional, "Gloria"
- From
- France; English words from England
- Type
- Sacred carol
The story behind “Angels We Have Heard on High”
It began as a French carol, "Les Anges dans nos campagnes" ("The angels in our countryside"). James Chadwick, a Catholic bishop in the north of England, wrote the English paraphrase in 1862.
Its long, rolling "Gloria" is the part everyone waits for — and the place where plenty of carolers run out of breath.
More carols like this
- Silent Night1818 · Oberndorf, Austria
- Jingle Bells1857 · Boston, Massachusetts
- Joy to the World1719 · England; tune from Boston
- O Holy Night1847 · Roquemaure, France
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing1739 · England
- Deck the Halls1862 · Wales; English words from Scotland
History retold from the carol's Wikipedia article and its sources; checked 2026-09-30.