Thursday, December 24, 2009

In the Bleak Midwinter

This song is lovely and I am sharing it with you.  I have put an annotation at the beginning of each verse.

This sets the tone

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.
The Coming of the greatest gift
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 incarnate,
Jesus Christ.
The birth (nativity)
Enough for him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
And a manger full of hay.
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
which adore.
The beauty of a mother's love - contrasted with the glory of angels.
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.
On Giving the best gift
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.
Here is the song as done by Sissel a Norwegian soprano with a lovely clear voice. (not all the lyrics are in her version)

6 comments:

LINDA BYLSMA said...

Thank you for that lovely gift.

Raymond K. Houston said...

In sing baritone/bass in a church choir . . .

For many years, the imagery of the final verse had me so choked up, I couldn't sing a note (and, tears ran down my cheeks) . . .

Such a lovely song . . . thank you, Gene.

FabricFascination said...

Happy Christmas to you and your family.

Tangos Treasures said...

That is beautiful, thank you!
May you & yours have a blessed Christmas!
Love Tango

Rhonda said...

What a wonderful and thoughtful gift to us, Gene. Merry Christmas and take care!

Greg said...

That was awesome... Thanks for sharing... Marry Christmas Gene!