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The rising of the sun
The running of the deer,
The playing of the organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly wears a blossom
As white as any flower,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our Saviour.
The rising of the sun,
The running of the deer,
The playing of the organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do sinners good.
The rising of the sun,
The running of the deer,
The playing of the organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
The rising of the sun,
The running of the deer,
The playing of the organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall,
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ,
To redeem us all.
The rising of the sun,
The running of the deer,
The playing of the organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly and the ivy,
When they are full grown,
Of all the trees in the wood
The holly bears the crown.
The rising of the sun,
The running of the deer,
The playing of the organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
To see her new born son, good man,
And blessed may he be.
Sing Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
To all eternity.
The next good joy that Mary had
It was the joy of two.
To see her son Jesus,
Make the lame to go.
The next rejoice that Mary had,
It was the joy of three.
To see her own son Jesus,
To make the blind to see.
To make the blind to see, good man,
And blessed may he be.
Sing Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
To all eternity.
The next good joy our lady had,
It was the joy of four.
It was the rejoice of her dear son,
When he read the bible o'er.
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of five.
To see her own son Jesus,
To make the dead alive.
To make the dead alive, good man,
And blessed may he be.
Sing Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
To all eternity.
The next rejoice our lady had,
It was the rejoice of six.
To see her own son Jesus,
To bear the crucifix.
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of seven.
To see her own son Jesus,
To wear the crown of heaven.
To wear the crown of heaven, good man,
And blessed may he be.
Sing Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
To all eternity.
And glory may he be,
And blessed now be she.
And those who sing the seven long verses,
In honour of our lady.
En Bethléem Marie et Joseph vy
L'asne et le boeuf l'Enfant couché parmy;
La crêche était au lieu dun bercelet.
Noël nouvelet! Noël chantons icy!
L'estoile vint qui le jour esclaircy
Et la vy bien d'où jetois départy
En Bethléem les trois roys conduisaient.
Noël nouvelet! Noël chantons icy!
L'un portrait lor et l'autre myrrhe aussi
Et l'autre encens que faisait bon senty:
Le paradis semblait le jardinet.
Noël nouvelet! Noël chantons icy!
Noël nouvelet! Noël chantons icy!
En douze jours fut Noël accomply;
Par cinq vers sera mon chant finy
Par chaque jour j'en ai fait un couplet.
Noël nouvelet! Noël chantons icy!
Good King Wenceslas looked outNote: the stanza printed in italics is not sung by Loreena.
"Hither, page, and stand by me,
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence,
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine-logs hither
Thou and I shall see him dine
When we bear them thither."
Page and monarch, forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather.
"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, good my page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shall find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."
In his master's step he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, rejoice
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye, who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.
O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling
For whom we sing
By by, lullay lullay?
Lullay lullu, thou little tiny child
By by, lullay lullay
Herod, the king
In his raging
Chargeth he doth this day
His men of might
In his own right,
All young children to slay
Lullay, thou little tiny child
La la, lullay lullay
That woe is me
Poor child for thee!
And ever morn and day,
For thy parting
Neither say nor sing
By by, lully lullay!
Lully lullay, thou little tiny child
By by, lullay lullay
God rest ye merry, gentlemen,Note: the stanza printed in italics is not sung by Loreena.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!
From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed angel came
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same
How in that Bethlehem was born
The son of God by name
"Fear not," then said the angel
"Let nothing you affright
This day is born a saviour
Of a pure virgin bright
To free all those who trust in him
From Satan's pow'rs and might"
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!
The shepherds at those tidings
Rejoiced much in mind,
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind
And went to Bethlehem straightaway
This blessed babe to find
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!
But when to Bethlehem they came
Whereat this infant lay
They found him in a manger
Where oxen feed on hay
His mother Mary kneeling
Unto the Lord did pray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!
Now to the Lord sing praises
All you within this place
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace
The holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!
The meadows and far-sheeted streams
Lie still without a sound;
Like some soft minister of dreams
The snow-fall hoods me around;
In wood and water, earth and air
Silence is everywhere
Save when at lonely spells
Some farmer's sleigh, urged on,
With rustling runners and sharp bells
Swings by me and is gone;
Or from the empty waste I hear
A sound remote and clear
The barking of a dog
To cattle is sharply pealed,
Borne echoing from some wayside stall
Or barnyard far afield;
Then all is silent and the snow falls
Settling soft and slow
The evening deepens and the grey
Folds closer round the sky
The world seems shrouded, so far away.
Its noises sleep, and I as secret as
Yon buried stream plod dumbly on and dream.
I dream ... (8x)
The gardener was standing by
I asked him to choose for me
He chose for me the violet, the lily and the pink
But those I refused all three
But those I refused all three
The violet I did not like
Because it blooms so soon
The lily and the pink I really over-think
So I thought I would wait till June
So I thought I would wait till June
In June there was a red rose bud
That is the flower for me
And often times I've plucked that red rose bud
Till I gained the willow tree
Till I gained the willow tree
The willow tree will twist
The willow tree will twine
And often times I've wished I was in the young man's arms
Who once had the heart of mine
Who once had the heart of mine
I sowed the seeds of love
I sowed them in the spring
I gathered them up in the morning so soon
When the small birds so sweetly sing
When the small birds so sweetly sing
So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek!
Pray God send out master a good piece of beef,
And a good piece of beef that we all may see;
With the wassailing-bowl we'll drink to thee!
And here is to Dobbin and to his right eye!
Pray God send our master a good Christmas pie,
And a good Christmas pie that we may all see;
With our wassailing-bowl, we'll drink to thee!
So here is to Broad May and to her broad horn!
May God send our master a good crop of corn,
And a good crop of corn that we may all see;
With the wassailing-bowl we'll drink to thee!
And here is to Fillpail and to her left ear!
Pray God send our master a happy new year,
And a happy new year as e'er he did see;
With our wassailing-bowl we'll drink to thee!
And here is to Colly and to her long tail!
Pray God send our master he never may fail
A bowl of strong beer, I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it's then you shall hear.
Then here's to the maid in the lily-white smock
Who tripped to the door and slipped back the lock;
Who tripped to the door and pulled back the pin,
For to let these jolly wassailers in.
Wassail! Wassail all over the town!
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing-bowl, we'll drink to thee!
Drink to thee, drink to thee,
With the wassailing-bowl we'll drink to thee.
Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.
Veni veni, O Oriens;
Solare nos adveniens;
Noctis depelle nebulas,
Dirasque noctis tenebras.
Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.
Veni, Clavis Davidica;
Regna reclude celica;
Fac iter tutum superum,
Et claude vias inferum.
Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.
Veni, veni, Adonaï,
Qui populo in Sinaï
Legem dedisiti vertice
In maiestate glorie.
Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel.
From: A midwinter night's dream (2008)
see the separate lyrics pages for the authors of the lyrics.
<=== The Loreena McKennitt
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Jos van Geffen --
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