by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
Christmas Carol (To Jesus on His...
Language: English
For this your mother sweated in the cold, For this you bled upon the bitter tree: A yard of tinsel ribbon bought and sold; A paper wreath; a day at home for me. The merry bells ring out, the people kneel; Up goes the man of God before the crowd; With voice of honey and with eyes of steel He drones your humble gospel to the proud. Less than the wind that blows Are all you words to us you died to save. O Prince of Peace! O Sharon's dewy Rose! How mute you lie within your vaulted grave. The stone the angel rolled away with tears Is back upon your mouth these thousand years.
Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Musto (b. 1954), "Christmas Carol (To Jesus on His Birthday)", from Quiet songs, no. 4. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: John Musto
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 115