Nahum Tate wrote the lyrics for “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night.”
Tate was an Irish-born poet who became England’s Poet Laureate. The carol’s words appeared in 1700 in a supplement to Tate and Nicholas Brady’s *A New Version of the Psalms of David*, first published in 1696. Its original title was “Song of the Angels at the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour.”
The text retells the Annunciation to the shepherds described in Luke 2:8–14. An angel brings the shepherds “glad tidings,” announces Christ’s birth in David’s town, and is followed by a heavenly chorus praising God and proclaiming peace. The poem is written in common metre, which makes it adaptable to several hymn tunes.
A common mix-up is confusing the lyricist with the composer or arranger. Tate wrote the words, but the carol has been sung to multiple melodies. “Winchester Old” is especially associated with Britain, while an arrangement of a Handel melody by Lowell Mason became popular in the United States. The title also varies between “While” and Tate’s original “Whilst.”