Shepherds, what joy­ful tid­ings
Have made you sing and play?
Long have we been await­ing
The Lamb that came to­day.
Cherubim, se­ra­phim sang to us mer­ri­ly,
Fear not, but hur­ry ye over to Beth­le­hem.

When they drew near the sta­ble
They saw the new­born Child
Lain on straw in the man­ger
Like lamb on up­land wild
Tearful His ti­ny lids wa­vered with shud­der­ing;
Cold was the wel­come they gave Him in Beth­le­hem.

Sweetly He slept and slum­bered,
In Ma­ry’s arms so mild,
Shepherds hum­bly adored Him
And Mary then re­plied,
Back to your fold, car­ry peace and tran­qui­li­ty;
My lit­tle Son gives you peace and love ev­er­more.