"From heaven above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring,
Whereof I now will say and sing:
"To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen virgin mild;2
This little child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all the earth.
"This is the Christ, our God and Lord,
Who in all need shall aid afford;
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free.
"He will on you the gifts bestow
Prepared by God for all below,
That in His kingdom, bright and fair,
You may with us His glory share.
"These are the tokens ye shall mark:
The swaddling-clothes and manger dark;
There ye shall find the Infant laid
By whom the heavens and earth were made."
Now let us all with gladsome cheer
Go with the shepherds and draw near
To see the precious gift of God,
Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.
Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!
What is it in yon manger lies?
Who is this child, so young and fair?
The blessed Christ-child lieth there.
Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
Thou com'st to share my misery;
What thanks shall I return to Thee?
Ah, Lord, who hast created all,
How weak art Thou, how poor and small,
That Thou dost choose Thine infant bed
Where humble cattle lately fed!
Were earth a thousand times as fair,
Beset with gold and jewels rare,
It yet were far too poor to be
A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.
For velvets soft and silken stuff
Thou hast but hay and straw so rough,
Whereon Thou, King, so rich and great,
As 'twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.
And thus, dear Lord, it pleaseth Thee
To make this truth quite plain to me,
That all the world's wealth, honor, might,
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.
Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled, be
Within my heart, that it may
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.
My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep;
I, too, must sing with joyful tongue
That sweetest ancient cradle-song:
Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto us His Son hath given!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth.
This is a "new" favorite for me. A friend of mine mentioned this as a good one, and now I know why:
Of the Father's love begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.
Oh, that birth forever blessed
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Savior of our race,
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face
Evermore and evermore.
O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.
This is He whom Heaven-taught singers
Sang of old with one accord;
Whom the Scriptures of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word.
Now He shines, the Long-expected;
Let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.
Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unending praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory
Evermore and evermore.
This is perhaps the most obscure one I have found yet. It's allegorical and the melody is haunting and beautiful. I've been listening to this gentleman, Kemper Crabb, and I wish I lived close to where he frequently gives concerts though...love his music.
Down in yon forest there stands a hall:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
It's covered all over with purple and pall
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
In that hall there stands a bed:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
It's covered all over with scarlet so red:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
At the bed-side there lies a stone:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
Which the sweet Virgin Mary knelt upon:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
Under that bed there runs a flood:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
The one half runs water, the other runs blood:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
At the bed's foot there grows a thorn:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
Which ever blows blossom since he was born:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
Over that bed the moon shines bright:
The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:
Denoting our Saviour was born this night:
And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.
Not a carol today. This is a great song that I heard first when John McCutcheon came to Wright State University in 1991. This is about the Christmas Truce of 1914. (Skip to 2:00 if you don't want the intro).
Oh my name is Francis Tolliver, I come from Liverpool Two years ago the war was waiting for me after school From Belgium and to Flanders, Germany to here I fought for King and country I love dear.
'twas Christmas in the trenches where the frost so bitter hung The frozen fields of France were still no Christmas songs were sung Our families back in England were toasting us that day Their brave and glorious lads so far away.
I was lying with my mess mates on the cold and rocky ground When across the lines of battle came a most peculiar sound Says I now listen up me boys, each soldier strained to hear As one young German voice sang out so clear.
He's singing bloody well you know, my partner says to me Soon one by one each German voice joined in in harmony The cannons rested silent and the gas clouds rolled no more As Christmas brought us respite from the war.
As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen struck up some lads from Kent The next they sang was Stille Nacht 'tis Silent Night says I And in two tongues one song filled up that sky
There's someone coming towards us now the front line sentry cried All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their side His truce flag like a Christmas Star shone on the plane so bright As he bravely strode unarmed into the night.
Soon one by one on either side, walked in to No Mans Land With neither gun nor bayonet, we met there hand to hand We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well And in a flare-lit football game we gave them hell.
We traded chocolates, cigarettes and photographs from home These sons and fathers far away from families of their own Young Sanders played his squeeze box and they had a violin This curious and unlikely band of men.
Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war But the question haunted every heart that lived that wonderous night Whose family have I fixed within my sights.
Twas Christmas in the trenches and the frost so bitter hung The frozen fields of France were warmed, the songs of peace were sung For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war had been crumbled and were gone forever more. Oh my name is Francis Tolliver, from Liverpool I dwell Each Christmas comes since World War I have learned its lesson well For the one who calls the shots won't be among the dead and lame And on each end of the rifle we're the same
That's not the title I knew it by, but after looking online, I learned more.
Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk, And Mary bore Jesus, who was wrapped up in silk:
Chorus
And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be, And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly. Holly! Holly! And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!
Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass, And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross:
Chorus
Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal, And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all:
Chorus
Now the holly bears a berry, as blood is it red, Then trust we our Saviour, who rose from the dead:
Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light, And usher in the morning; O shepherds, shrink not with a fright, But hear the angel’s warning. This Child, now weak in infancy, Our confidence and joy shall be, The power of Satan breaking, Our peace eternal making.
While, I enjoy(ed) the Mannheim Steamroller version, I am on a decade (at least) sabbatical from listening to them. This version is nice even though it's not in the original German:
Still, still, still, One can hear the falling snow. For all is hushed, The world is sleeping, Holy Star its vigil keeping. Still, still, still, One can hear the falling snow.
Sleep, sleep, sleep, 'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth. The night is peaceful all around you, Close your eyes, Let sleep surround you. Sleep, sleep, sleep, 'Tis the eve of our Saviour's birth.
Dream, dream, dream, Of the joyous day to come. While guardian angels without number, Watch you as you sweetly slumber. Dream, dream, dream, Of the joyous day to come.
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day, Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels fall before, The ox and ass and camel which adore.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
I love Christmas music! As a matter of fact, it's during this time of the year that I miss my first career (music teacher) the most. The problem of course is that much of the "Good" Christmas music is never heard due to the schlock found on local radio stations. Many of my favorites will be posted on this site over the next month. You may not like it all, but hopefully you can appreciate some.
Please don't hold your breath hoping I will post links to Burl Ives, The Beach Boys or Karen Carpenter.
