AN OLD SONG

A Medieval depiction of the Nativity

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THE COVENTRY CAROL

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Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,

By, by, lully, lullay.Lullay,

Thou little tiny Child.

By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters, too, how may we do,

For to preserve this day;

This poor Youngling for whom we sing,

By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the King, in his raging,

Charged he hath this day;

His men of might, in his own sight,

All children young, to slay.

Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,

And ever mourn and say;

For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,

By, by, lully, lullay.

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This is one of the earliest extant carols in the English language, and is believed to have its origins in the Coventy Mystery Plays back in the 1300's. These Plays were populist dramas usually enacted out of doors which depicted scenes from the life of Christ. The Carol is a lullabye for the Infant Jesus midst the "raging of Herod" as he unleashes the slaufghter of the Innocents in an effort to destroy this new King! The soothing refrain "Lully, lulla..." is a kind of musical gift offered to the Infant , " this poor youngling for whom we do sing", a human succour for the threatened Child. The Coventry Carol sadly is not heard too often nowadays and the best recorded version of it that I have heard is by the late John Denver from his collection 'Rocky Mountain Christmas' - GOSh-