by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Sweet was the song
Language: English
Sweet was the song the Virgin sung, When she to Bethlem Juda came, And was deliver'd of a Son, That blessed Jesus hath to name. Jesus lullaby, sweet Babe, sang she. My Son and eke a Saviour born Who hast vouchsafed from on high To visit us that were forlorn. Jesus lullaby, sweet Babe, sang she. And rock'd Him sweetly on her knee. Jesus!
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, from William Ballet's lute book, "William Ballet, his booke", first published 16th century [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), "Sweet was the song", 1931, rev. 1966. [SSAA chorus a cappella] [text verified 1 time]
Set in a modified version by John Attey.
Set in a modified version by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Researcher for this page: Ivo Zandhuis
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-13
Line count: 11
Word count: 64