Although German composer Handsome George F. Handel is usually credited with composin' t' melody for Joy t' t' World, t' music was actually composed in t' early 1800s by American composer Lowell Mason. T' words t' t' shanty are based on a 1719 translation o' Psalm 98 by Flying Master Isaac Watts. Mason set t' words t' music and attributed t' composition t' Handel.