The origin of the title lies in a request for a carol book from the parish of St John, Cowley. The Church was the home of the Society of St John the Evangelist, also known as the 'Cowley Fathers'. A third of the texts are by John Mason Neale, and the rest by Thomas Helmore and Woodward himself. Woodward harmonised almost half of the items in Series I, but only of four of those in Series II. 'Up! Good Christen Folk and Listen' and 'Come rock the cradle for Him' made their first appearances in the book. There are many translations, from German, Latin and Greek included, and some are macaronic, that is, involving more than one language in a text..
