The Angel Chorus

On the win­try and lone­ly hill­side

All in the dim star­light

Shepherds ov­er the flock were keep­ing

Watch at the dead of night;

When swift an­gels of light came down

And earth with ho­san­nas rang;

Harps of gold and che­ru­bic voic­es

Loudly and cheer­ily sang

At Beth­le­hem:

Glory to God in the high­est

And on earth peace

good­will to men.

Earth was wrapped in a robe of win­ter:

Kindly the new-fall’n snow

Drew the veil of a vir­gin white­ness

Pure ov­er guilt and woe.

Beasts of prey on the froz­en mount­ain

Flocks on the charm­èd plain

Nature all

in en­tranc­èd rap­ture

Listened to that sweet strain

From Beth­le­hem:

Proudly march­ing along the for­um

Priests with a pom­pous train

Closed the gates of the Ro­man Ja­nus

Under a Cæ­sar’s reign.

Everywhere

and in ev­ery na­tion

War

with its car­nage grim

Shouts and groans

and the roar of bat­tle

Ceased for the an­gel’s hymn

At Beth­le­hem:

Lo! each ora­cle of the hea­then

Soon dis­en­chant­ed proves:

Through the gloom of the dark Dodo­na

Dumb are the oak­en groves;

Dumb the voice of Ap­ol­lo’s priest­ess

Delphi is left for­lorn;

All the realms of the de­mons tremb­le

Knowing their con­qu’ror born

At Beth­le­hem:

Wide and wid­er at ev­ery Christ­mas

Echoes the joy­ful sound;

From Ju­dea the glad good tid­ings

Now run the wide world round.

Sing

then sing

for the list­en­ing an­gels

Bending on ea­ger wing

Join us now in the roy­al chor­us

They were the first to sing

At Beth­le­hem: