She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:7
Words: Henry R. Bramley, in Christmas Carols New and Old, by Henry Bramley & John Stainer (London: Novello, Ewer, 1871), number 18.
Music: Frederick A. Gore-Ouseley (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Bramley (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Listen, lordings, unto me,
A tale I will you tell;
Which, as on this night of glee,
In David’s town befell.
Joseph came from Nazareth,
With Mary that sweet maid:
Weary they were, nigh to death;
And for a lodging prayed.
Refrain
Sing high, sing high, sing low, sing low.
Sing high, sing low, sing to and fro,
Go tell it out with speed,
Cry out and shout all round about,
That Christ is born indeed.
In the inn they found no room;
A scanty bed they made:
Soon a babe from Mary’s womb
Was in the manger laid.
Forth He came as light through glass:
He came to save us all.
In the stable ox and ass
Before their maker fall.
Refrain
Shepherds lay afield that night,
To keep the silly sheep,
Hosts of angels in their sight
Came down from Heav’n’s high steep.
Tidings! Tidings! unto you:
To you a child is born,
Purer than the drops of dew
And brighter than the morn.
Refrain
Onward then the angels sped,
The shepherds onward went,
God was in His manger bed,
In worship low they bent.
In the morning see ye mind,
My masters one and all,
At the altar Him to find,
Who lay within the stall.
Refrain