"What Child Is This" Lyrics

[lak611]

Is this the modern version that people are referring to?

1. What child is this who, laid to rest,
   on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
   Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
   while shepherds watch are keeping?
   Refrain:
   This, this is Christ the King,
   whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
   haste, haste to bring him laud,
   the babe, the son of Mary.

1. Why lies he in such mean estate
   where ox and *** are feeding?
   Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
   the silent Word is pleading.
   (Refrain)

1. So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
   come, peasant, king, to own him;
   the King of kings salvation brings,
   let loving hearts enthrone him.
   (Refrain)

I found this one in the Methodist Hymnal.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

There is a three-letter reason why this carol has been abridged. It starts with “O.”

And that would be?

 

[lizaanne]

What’s the big green one, Glory and Praise? What are the lyrics in that one, does anyone have a copy? That’s what I’m familiar with and I’ve never heard the lyrics regarding the nail and spear, though it is so much more appropriate I think. Christ was born to die on the cross - to deny that at Christmas is doing Him such a huge disservice.

Thank you for pointing this out - this is a very interesting observation!

~Liza

 

[PatienceAndLove]

When I looked for lyrics, this is what I came up with:

What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and *** are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

 

[lak611]

What’s the big green one, Glory and Praise? What are the lyrics in that one, does anyone have a copy? That’s what I’m familiar with and I’ve never heard the lyrics regarding the nail and spear, though it is so much more appropriate I think. Christ was born to die on the cross - to deny that at Christmas is doing Him such a huge disservice.

Thank you for pointing this out - this is a very interesting observation!

~Liza

Check my post #21 and see if that’s the one you are thinking of. I got it from the Methodist hymnal, but it might be the same one you are referring to, because there is no mention of nails or a spear.

 

[VAC]

I had never heard those older lyrics, thanks for sharing.

You can’t NOT use this song for Christmas, IMO.
I confess to ommitting the word ‘***’ and substituting ‘lamb’ as I was teaching it to our children’s choir

 

[PatienceAndLove]

I had never heard those older lyrics, thanks for sharing.

You can’t NOT use this song for Christmas, IMO.
I confess to ommitting the word ‘***’ and substituting ‘lamb’ as I was teaching it to our children’s choir

I learned it that way too when I was wee. Dissolution into giggles that come from “a**” are almost impossible to get rid of. There is always that one impetuous child that keeps repeating the word, keeping the children from learning.

 

[lak611]

I had never heard those older lyrics, thanks for sharing.

You can’t NOT use this song for Christmas, IMO.
I confess to ommitting the word ‘***’ and substituting ‘lamb’ as I was teaching it to our children’s choir

Well, you cannot avoid that word if you use the NAB. That’s the name for the animal in Matthew and John’s Gospels when you read about the triumphal entry (Matthew 21:1-7 and John 12:12-15). I would suspect that the NAB is the translation that the children would use in class. The RSV-CE and D-R use that word for the animal also.

 

[lak611]

I learned it that way too when I was wee. Dissolution into giggles that come from “a**” are almost impossible to get rid of. There is always that one impetuous child that keeps repeating the word, keeping the children from learning.

I never found the word funny as a child, nor did anybody in my CCD classes. I knew that a male donkey is a jackass, and the song was referring to a donkey. My parents’ nativity set included an ox and a donkey. We put them in the stable with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

 

[PatienceAndLove]

I never found the word funny as a child, nor did anybody in my CCD classes. I knew that a male donkey is a jackass, and the song was referring to a donkey. My parents’ nativity set included an ox and a donkey. We put them in the stable with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

So true. But my observation of many (not even most, just many) children find the word funny because many adults do as well.

 

[VAC]

I guess I’m a coward… I also substituted the word ‘sinner’ for ‘harlot’ in the song “In Christ there is a table set for all”
No one wanted to have to explain to 6-8 year old girls what a harlot was.

(VAC makes chicken noises )

 

[benedictgal]

Wow, you’re right! I had a copy of the hymnal my church used to use (they recently got new missaletes, and let parishioners keep the old ones). It’s the OCP “Heritage” missal, and the second halves of the second and third verses are missing, replaced by the second half of the first verse set as a refrain. I’m not sure if the new missals have this same version, as they are also by OCP.

The version you mention is unfamiliar to me, but seems richer and more meaningful - a shame we don’t use it.

This is another example of OCP mangling beautiful hymns and re-translating the Traditional in the name of the banal. I think you can find the original in the Worship II hymnals. I’m going to see if any exist on ebay.

It’s a crying shame that we have to resort to ebay to find some of our lost Catholic treasures.

 

[benedictgal]

I guess I’m a coward… I also substituted the word ‘sinner’ for ‘harlot’ in the song “In Christ there is a table set for all”
No one wanted to have to explain to 6-8 year old girls what a harlot was.

(VAC makes chicken noises )

My PV told us the funny, but true story about how one of the nuns had explained to him and his first grade class regarding St. Mary Magdalene and her alleged reputation. My PV asked Sister --, “What did St. Mary Magdalene do that was so bad?” Sister – replied, “She owned too many clothes.”

Maybe you can tell that to the 6-8 year old girls.

 

[lak611]

I guess I’m a coward… I also substituted the word ‘sinner’ for ‘harlot’ in the song “In Christ there is a table set for all”
No one wanted to have to explain to 6-8 year old girls what a harlot was.

(VAC makes chicken noises )

Ezekiel 16 is used in the Lectionary on Friday of week 19 in year II of Ordinary Time. Harlot appears in that reading.

 

[VAC]

Ezekiel 16 is used in the Lectionary on Friday of week 19 in year II of Ordinary Time. Harlot appears in that reading.

I understand what you are saying. I will work on being less of a coward in the future… The use of the word ‘harlot’ was frowned upon by most of the adults in the group when I first brought out the song.
I think hearing the word in a reading has less impact than learning it in a song. My choir group consists of 4-5 children ages 7-10 and English is not the first language of several of the adult singers that sing with us, therefore, they all frequently ask questions about the meanings of words in the songs we sing.

 

[lak611]

My PV told us the funny, but true story about how one of the nuns had explained to him and his first grade class regarding St. Mary Magdalene and her alleged reputation. My PV asked Sister --, “What did St. Mary Magdalene do that was so bad?” Sister – replied, “She owned too many clothes.”

Maybe you can tell that to the 6-8 year old girls.

Actually, Mary Magdalene is only mentioned to have had demons cast out of her. From the D-R:

Mar 16:9 But he rising early the first day of the week, appeared first to Mary Magdalen; out of whom he had cast seven devils.

There is nothing in the Bible that says she was a harlot.

 

[Guitar]

This is another example of OCP mangling beautiful hymns and re-translating the Traditional in the name of the banal.

Is it?

I have no great love for OCP, however as a paid-up member of the early music movement I have several recordings of this from period music specialists (all secular performance ensembles, no axes to grind one way or the other and all working from original manuscripts) and I have never heard this verse before.

Everyone absolutely sure it is on the original manuscripts?

(I have no problem with the verse if it isn’t original … but sometimes people who are not musicologists and who have no working knowledge of period music make claims that aren’t quite correct …)

 

[japhy]

I always thought the “Nails, spear…” part was so moving - draws the connection between Christmas and Easter - the wood of the manger and the wood of the cross. It makes me cry whenever I hear it. Kind of like the verse about Myrrh in “We Three Kings”. At least we still get to sing that sometimes…

Pope John Paul II, in his homily at the Mass at Manger Square in Bethlehem in March 2000:
The great mystery of divine self-emptying, the work of our redemption unfolding in weakness: this is no easy truth. The Saviour was born in the night – in the darkness, in the silence and poverty of the cave of Bethlehem. “The people who walked in darkness has seen a great light: on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone”, declares the Prophet Isaiah (9:2). This is a place that has known “the yoke” and “the rod” of oppression. How often has the cry of innocents been heard in these streets? Even the great church built over the Saviour’s birth-place stands like a fortress battered by the strife of the ages. The Crib of Jesus lies always in the shadow of the Cross. The silence and poverty of the birth in Bethlehem are one with the darkness and pain of the death on Calvary. The Crib and the Cross are the same mystery of redemptive love; the body which Mary laid in the manger is the same body offered up on the Cross.

 

[ChadS]

Pope John Paul II, in his homily at the Mass at Manger Square in Bethlehem in March 2000:
The great mystery of divine self-emptying, the work of our redemption unfolding in weakness: this is no easy truth. The Saviour was born in the night – in the darkness, in the silence and poverty of the cave of Bethlehem. “The people who walked in darkness has seen a great light: on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone”, declares the Prophet Isaiah (9:2). This is a place that has known “the yoke” and “the rod” of oppression. How often has the cry of innocents been heard in these streets? Even the great church built over the Saviour’s birth-place stands like a fortress battered by the strife of the ages. The Crib of Jesus lies always in the shadow of the Cross. The silence and poverty of the birth in Bethlehem are one with the darkness and pain of the death on Calvary. The Crib and the Cross are the same mystery of redemptive love; the body which Mary laid in the manger is the same body offered up on the Cross.

I just wanted to add that this is really one of my favorite Christmas hymns and since I’ve become Catholic and my understanding of theology has deepened it has taken on so much more meaning. by including the verse about spear and nails it sharpens into focus exactly what JPII was talking about “the crib is always in the shadow of the cross.”

ChadS

 

[benedictgal]

Actually, Mary Magdalene is only mentioned to have had demons cast out of her. From the D-R: There is nothing in the Bible that says she was a harlot.

I think the nun was referring to St. Gregory the Great’s homily wherein he referred to her as a harlot. Supposedly that’s where the confusion began.