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by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)

In the bleak midwinter 
 (Sung text for setting by M. Swithinbank)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
Our translations:  DUT FRI GER
 In the bleak mid-winter
 Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
 Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
 Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
 Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him,
 Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
 When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
 A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty --
 Jesus Christ.

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.

Angels and Archangels
 May have gathered there,
Cherubim and Seraphim
 Thronged the air;
But only His Mother
 In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the Beloved
 With a kiss.

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.
First published in Scribner's Monthly, January 1872

Composition:

    Set to music by Mick Swithinbank (b. 1953), "In the bleak midwinter " [ SSATBB chorus a cappella ]

Text Authorship:

  • by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "A Christmas Carol"

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Geart van der Meer) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRI Frisian (Geart van der Meer) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 177

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