Once some wise men saw a star,
As they jour­neyed from afar
Over de­sert waste and val­leys fair;
Many wea­ry leagues went they
Till they came where Je­sus lay,
And they bent the knee of
Adoration there.

Refrain

O the star, O the star,
O the star of Beth­le­hem!
And it shines for us to­day,
And will shine for us al­way!
O the star, the bless­èd star
Of Beth­le­hem!

From ce­les­ti­al realms of light,
Thro’ the arch­es of the night,
While the skies with songs of se­raphs ring,
Shone that glo­ri­ous, star­ry gem
O’er the town of Beth­le­hem,
Where the tra­vel­ers wor­shiped Christ,
The new­born King.

Refrain

’Twas that star, whose splen­dors bright
Filled the world with flam­ing light
As it shone through­out the star­ry dome,
That pro­claimed to all the earth
Tidings of Mes­si­ah’s birth,
As it told that Christ,
The Prince of Peace, was come.

Refrain

Ever shine, O star­ry gem,
O’er the town of Beth­le­hem,
Till the earth shall wor­ship Christ the King!
Till thy rays we all may see
Shining ov­er land and sea,
And each na­tion un­to Him
Shall trib­ute bring!

Refrain