In the bleak midwinter
General information
Lyricist: Christina Rossetti
A poem by Christina Rossetti which has been set to music famously by Harold Darke and Gustav Holst and also by other composers.
Settings by composers
- Bob Chilcott (still under copyright)
- Harold Darke (omits verse 4)
- Gustav Holst
- Thomas B. Strong (no edition on CPDL yet)
- Mick Swithinbank
- Eric Thiman (still under copyright)
- Robert C. L. Watson (still under copyright)
Original text and translations
English text
1.
In the bleak midwinter frosty winds 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.
2.
Our God, Heav'n cannot hold him nor earth sustain;
Heav'n and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign:
In the bleak midwinter astable place sufficed.
The Lord God Almighty Jesus Christ.
3.
Enough for him, whom cherubim worship night and day,
A breastful of milk and a mangerful of hay:
Enough for him, whom angels fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.
4.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
but only his mother in her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved with a kiss.
5.
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.