Christmas
What Child Is This?
- Words:
- William Chatterton Dix, 1865.
- Music:
- 'Greensleeves' 16th Century English Traditional.
- Setting:
- traditional from "The Sunday School Hymnal and Service Book", 1871.
- Metre:
- 8 7 8 7 6 8 6 7
- 1What Child is this who, laid to restOn Mary's lap is sleeping?Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,While shepherds watch are keeping?This, this is Christ the King,Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,The Babe, the Son of Mary.
- 2Why lies He in such mean estate,Where ox and ass are feeding?Good Christians, fear, for sinners hereThe silent Word is pleading.Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,The cross be borne for me, for you.Hail, hail the Word made flesh,The Babe, the Son of Mary.
- 3So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,Come peasant, king to own Him;The King of kings salvation brings,Let loving hearts enthrone Him.Raise, raise a song on high,The virgin sings her lullaby.Joy, joy for Christ is born,The Babe, the Son of Mary.
More sheet music
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- The words are in 252 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
- The tune, Greensleeves, is in 228 hymnals. The tune →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. Further sheet music is from PDHymns.com. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.