Sweet was the song | Sweet was the song the Virgin sung

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!

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.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Set in a modified version by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

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Researcher for this text: Ivo Zandhuis

This text was added to the website: 2004-12-13
Line count: 11
Word count: 64