Table of Contents
Coventry Carol
Lyrics
Text: Anonymous
Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.
Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child,
Bye bye, lully, lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay”?
Herod the king, in his raging,
Chargèd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight
All young children to slay.
That woe is me, poor child, for thee
And ever mourn and may
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
“Bye bye, lully, lullay.”
Music & Performance
Background
An old carol and with a dark theme, referencing Herod’s massacre of all male infants two and under in Bethlehem. This song is sung from the perspective of the mothers of the doomed children. The carol is named after the city of Coventry, England.
Origin: British
First Published: 16th Century
Music: Various
More Information
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Carol
http://www.hymnary.org/text/away_in_a_manger_no_crib_for_a_bed