When Jesus Christ was four years old,
The angels brought Him toys of gold,
Which no man ever had bought or sold.

And yet with these He would not play.
He made Him small fowl out of clay,
And blessed them till they flew away.

Tu creasti, Domine.1
Jesus Christ, Thou child so wise, 
Bless mine hands and fill mine eyes,
And bring my soul to Paradise.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Translation: Thou hast created them, O Lord.

Text Authorship:

• by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "The birds", appears in Verses, first published 1910 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The birds", 1929, published 1935 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Vera (Winifred) Buck (1903 - 1986), "The birds", published 1932 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Walter Joseph Buczynski (b. 1933), "The birds", published 1954 [ high voice and piano ], from Cycle of Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Geoffrey Bush (1920 - 1998), "The birds", published 1948 [ satb chorus a cappella ], from A Christmas Cantata [sung text not yet checked]
• by (Henry) Walford Davies, Sir (1869 - 1941), "The birds", published 1931 [ high voice and piano ], from Twenty-one songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John William Duarte (b. 1919), "The birds", published 1971 [ high voice and classical guitar ], from Five Quiet Songs [sung text not yet checked]
• by Arthur Fagge , "The birds", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Fearing , "When Jesus Christ was four years old", published 1966 [ medium voice and piano or organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Norman Gilbert (b. 1912), "The birds", published 1964 [ unison chorus, descant recorder or oboe, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Arthur Murray Goodhart (1866 - 1941), "When Jesus Christ was four", published <<1967 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "The birds", 1921-1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Geoffrey Gwyther , "The birds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Phyllis M. James , "The birds", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "The birds" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Dom Gregory Murray , "The birds", published 1939 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by William Reginald Pasfield (1909 - 1994), "The birds", published 1962 [ unison chorus with optional descant and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Vincent Persichetti (1915 - 1987), "Thou child so wise", published 1965 [ medium voice and piano ], from Hilaire Belloc Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
• by George Rathbone (1874 - ?), "When Christ was four years old", published 1924 [ SSS chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Birds", op. 51 (1944) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Birds", op. 461 (1956) [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Birds", op. 649 (1964) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Joseph Roff (1910 - 1993), "Toys of gold", published 1959 [ SA chorus or unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by H. Haley Simpson , "The birds", published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Paul W. Sweetman , "The birds", published 1961 [ SSA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Eric Harding Thiman (1900 - 1975), "The birds", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ruth W. Vanderlip (1900 - 1986), "The legend of the birds", 1927 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leslie Walters (1902 - 1998), "The birds", published 1935 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
• by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "The birds", 1926, published 1927 [ voice (or unison boys' chorus) and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 67