Christmas Morning (Field)

Representative Text

1. The angel host that sped last night,
Bearing the wondrous news afar,
Came in their ever-glorious flight
Unto a slumbering little star.

2. Awake and sing, O star! they cried.
Awake and glorify the morn!
Herald the tidings far and wide
He that shall lead His flock is born!

3. The little star awoke and sung
As only stars in rapture may,
And presently where church bells hung
The joyous tidings found their way.

4. Awake, O bells! ’tis Christmas morn—
Awake and let thy music tell
To all mankind that now is born
What Shepherd loves His lambkins well!

5. Then rang the bells as fled the night
O’er dreaming land and drowsing deep,
And coming with the morning light,
They called, my child, to you asleep.

6. Sweetly and tenderly they spoke,
And lingering round your little bed,
Their music pleaded till you woke,
And this is what their music said:

7. Awake and sing! ’tis Christmas morn,
Whereon all earth salutes her king!
In Bethlehem is the Shepherd born.
Awake, O little lamb, and sing!

8. So, dear my child, kneel at my feet,
And with those voices from above
Share thou this holy time with me,
The universal hymn of love.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #7745

Author: Eugene Field

Field, Eugene, an American journalist who has written somewhat extensively for children, was born at St. Louis, Missouri, Sep. 2, 1850, educated at the University of Missouri, and died Nov. 4, 1895. His published works include Little Book of Western Verse, 1889; Second Book of Verse, 1891; and Love Songs of Childhood, 1894. A limited number of his hymns are in common use in America, and specimens of his verse are given in Horder's Treasury of American Sacred Song, 1900, pp. 283-287. See also "There burns a star o'er Bethlehem town." --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)  Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: The angel host that sped last night
Title: Christmas Morning (Field)
Author: Eugene Field (1890)
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

HE LEADETH ME (Bradbury)

After seeing Gilmore's text in the Boston Watchman and Reflector, William B. Bradbury (PHH 114) composed AUCHTON for those words. Bradbury arranged the text into a stanza/refrain structure, added the final line of the refrain, and published the hymn in his The Golden Censor in 1864. AUCHTON (also kn…

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The Cyber Hymnal #7745
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The Cyber Hymnal #7745

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