Lyrics
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.
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 Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for him, whom cherubim worship night and day,
A breastful of milk, and a manger full of hay:
Enough for him, whom angels fall down before,
The ox and as and camel which adore.
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.
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.
Recordings
To simplify issues with Copyright, we have had to start using various on-line delivery services for some hymns. A recording of this hymn is available on Richard Irwin's album - "From Advent to Epiphany Volume 2" which can be found on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Spotify. Please Contact Us if you do not have access to these services. Click Here to Downloadhttpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/d-PV9YYXNC4
Details
- Album: From Advent to Epiphany Volume 2
- Tune: Cranham
- Meter: Irregular
- Style: Victorian, Carol
- Composer: Gustav Theodore Holst (1874 – 1934)
- Lyricist: Christina Rossetti (1830 – 1894)
- Church Year: Christmas
- Music and Lyrics Public Domain.
- Performance Copyright ℗ 2013 Richard M S Irwin. All rights reserved.