Coventry Carol
GodTube Staff
Refrain:
Lully, lulla,
thou little tiny child,
by by, lully lullay.
1 O sisters too,
how may we do
for to preserve this day
this poor youngling,
for whom we do sing
by by, lully lullay?
2 Herod the king,
in his raging,
charged he hath this day
his men of might,
in his own sight,
all young children to slay.
3 That woe is me,
poor child for thee!
and ever morn and day,
for thy parting
neither say nor sing
by by, lully lullay! [Refrain]
Source: Ancient and Modern: hymns and songs for refreshing worship #77
The "Coventry Carol" is an English Christmas carol that dates back to the 16th century. The carol derives its name from its traditional performance in Coventry, England, as part of a play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from Matthew 2, including the grim decree by the evil King Herod to destroy all children two and under, in an effort to kill the baby Jesus and preserve Herod's own kingship.
The carol also references the Massacre of the Innocents and takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children. Within the pageant, the carol is sung by three women of Bethlehem, who enter the stage with their children immediately after Joseph is warned by an angel to take the baby Jesus and Mary to Egypt.
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