My hair is grey,
My eyes are becoming clouded and blind,
Nearly sixty times in the passing of the years
I have already rocked the dear Christchild.

Before the holy manger
All the lights of the altar are burning;
Again my weary lips are singing,
Singing today as in every year:

    Puer natus in Bethlehem, lulla! [A son is born in Bethlehem!]
    Unde gaudet Jerusalem, lulla! [Hence, rejoice Jerusalem!]
    Sleep, my dear little child!

Wilted and slack, my fingers
Lie upon the cradle ribbon;
When the young oblates rock,
The cradle flies under their hand.

Their eyelids burn
Today, strangely fervent and guarded, --
From days of long ago should I not recognize
What makes such young eyes dream?

    Puer natus in Bethlehem, lulla! [A son is born in Bethlehem!]
    Unde gaudet Jerusalem, lulla! [Hence, rejoice Jerusalem!]
    Sleep, my dear little child!

To sing, ever to sing!
Our breath looks like smoke in the frost;
With the slow swinging of the sanctuary lamp
The black shadow of the vaulted ceiling sways as well.

To rock, ever to rock
The sham of an empty cradle, --
Do I not see a sweet little life lying there,
Without radiance and glory, -- but my own?

You in the stable and manger,
Blessed Mother, Holy Child,
Sacrilege are the devotions of my lips
That thirst for earthly happiness!

Seven swords pierce
Deeply and sharply into your maternal heart,
Seven times would I suffer your [agony]1,
If I could savour your joys!

    Puer natus in Bethlehem, lulla! [A son is born in Bethlehem!]
    Unde gaudet Jerusalem, lulla! [Hence, rejoice Jerusalem!]
    Sleep, my dear little child!

But the Lord of the times
Let the years flow through my hand
As during the Ave the pearls slip
Upon the string of the holy rosary.

In the empty cradle,
My delusion no longer seeks an earthly life.
You world full of vanity, your songs fall silent,
My eyes sink, heavy with slumber.

Through the glimmering of the lights,
A pale redness creeps gently into the window, --
Only sing, sisters, with your young voices,
Sing, -- an end to our night shall come as well!

    Puer natus in Bethlehem, lulla! [A son is born in Bethlehem!]
    Unde gaudet Jerusalem, lulla! [Hence, rejoice Jerusalem!]
    Sleep, my dear little child!