[Music]
Ye nations all, on you I call,
Come hear this declaration,
And don't refuse this glorious news,
Of Jesus and salvation.
To royal Jews came first the news
Of Christ the great Messiah,
As was foretold by prophets old, Isaiah, Jeremiah.
To Abraham the promise came,
And to his seed forever,
A light to shine in Isaac's line,
By scripture we discover;
Hail, promised morn, the Savior's born,
The glorious Mediator--
God's blessed word made flesh and blood,
Assumed the human nature.
His parents poor in earthly store,
To entertain the stranger
They found no bed to lay his head,
But in the ox's manger;
No royal things, as used by kings,
Were seen by those that found him,
But in the hay the stranger lay,
With swaddling bands around him.
On the same night a glorious light
To shepherds there appeared,
Bright angels came in shining flame,
They saw and greatly feared;
The angels said, "Be not afraid,
Although we much alarm you,
We do appear good news to bear,
As now we will inform you.
"The city's name is Bethlehem,
In which God hath appointed,
This glorious morn a Savior's born,
For him God hath anointed;
By this you'll know, if you will go
To see this little stranger,
His lovely charms in Mary's arms,
Both lying in a manger."
When this was said, straightway was made
A glorious sound from heaven,
Each flaming, tongue an anthem sung,
"To men a Savior's given,
In Jesus' name, the glorious theme,
We elevate our voices,
At Jesus' birth be peace on earth,
Meanwhile all heaven rejoices."
Then with delight they took their flight,
And wing'd their way to glory,
The shepherds gazed and were amazed,
To hear the pleasing story;
To Bethlehem they quickly came,
The glorious news to carry,
And in the stall they found them all,
Joseph, the Babe, and Mary.
The shepherds then return'd again,
To their own habitation,
With joy of heart they did depart,
Now they have found salvation.
Glory, they cry, to God on high,
Who sent his son to save us,
This glorious morn the Savior's born,
His name it is Christ Jesus.
The tune, evidently dorian, is of a type that was widely used and
varied by folk singers. I mentioned this type in the Introduction,
page 14, and called it the 'Babe of Bethlehem' family of tunes because
the above seems to have been one of its best members. Other members,
in either the dorian or the aeolian mode, are 'Happy Souls (A)',
'Marion', 'Atonement', and 'Enquirer' in this collection; related
spiritual tunes not included here are 'Help me to Sing', OSH 376;
'Staunton', SKH 26; 'Melody', PB 313; 'Brownson', OL 259; 'Howland',
REV 73; and 'Sweet Prospect', OSH 65.
Related worldly songs are 'The Peevish Child', Petrie, No. 591; a song
without title, Petrie, No. 193; 'When First I Left Old Ireland',
Petrie, No. 863; 'Lowlands of Holland', Sharp, i., 200; 'Virginian
Lover', Sharp, ii., 149; and 'The Little Red Lark of the Mountain',
Petrie, No. 383. John Powell has set 'Babe of Bethlehem' in a
beautiful dorian-mixolydian form for mixed chorus. It is published by
J. Fischer and Brother, New York.