<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing these files? See media help . </Td> </Tr> <P> "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol with the lyrics written by James Chadwick, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, to the music from a French song called Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes . The music is the same as the original song, though Chadwick's lyrics albeit unique and original are clearly derived and inspired, and in parts a loose translation . The song's subject is the birth of Jesus Christ narrated in the Gospel of Luke, specifically the scene in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child . </P> <P> The lyrics of "Angels We Have Heard on High" are inspired by, but not a direct translation of, the French carol known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes (literally "the angels in our countryside") composed by an unknown author in Languedoc, France, though they are clearly inspired by that song, and broadly follow the same storyline . The French song has received many adjustments or alignments including "Angels We Have Heard On High"--its most common English version--written in 1862 by James Chadwick, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, northeast England . The carol quickly became popular in the West Country, where it was described as "Cornish" by R.R. Chope, and featured in Pickard - Cambridge's Collection of Dorset Carols . </P> <P> Chadwick's lyrics differ from the original French version, including a new song title, and are deemed an original work attributable solely to him . Chadwick did not directly translate the lyrics but wrote a new set of lyrics that closely followed the story theme of the original French song . </P>

When was angels we have heard on high composed