Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child.
By, by, lully, lullay.
O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we do sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young, to slay.
Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.
I've listened to instrumental versions of this carol for years, but somehow in my 35 years the lyrics escaped me, until this Christmas season. So haunting, and sad...not the kind of song modern Americans like to dwell on. But as a mother who has lost a child herself, it spoke to me. It's a song that needs to be sung.
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