What Child Is This?

"What Child Is This" redirects here. For the Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige cover, see What Child Is This (Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige cover).

"What Child Is This?" is a popular Christmas carol written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, English writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Yet out of his near-death experience, Dix wrote many hymns, including "What Child is This?", later set to the traditional English tune "Greensleeves"

Lyrics

The lyrics exist in several variants in different books. The version below is taken from Lutheran Service Book of 2006, with the punctuation following the New Oxford Book of Carols.

1. What child is this, who, laid to rest,

On Mary’s lap is sleeping,

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet

While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;¹

Haste, haste to bring Him laud,²

The babe, the son of Mary!

2. Why lies He in such mean estate

Where ox and ass are feeding?

Good Christian, fear: for sinners here

The silent Word is pleading.³

Nails, spear shall pierce him through,⁴

The Cross be borne for me, for you;⁵

Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh,⁶

The babe, the son of Mary!

3. So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh;

Come, peasant, king, to own Him!⁷

The King of Kings salvation brings;

Let loving hearts enthrone Him!⁸

Raise, raise the song on high!⁴

The virgin sings her lullaby.⁹

Joy! joy! for Christ is born,

The babe, the son of Mary!

— Lutheran Service Book

Alternative renderings and sources:

¹Whom shepherds worship and angels sing (NEH, CP, EP)

²Haste, haste to bring Him praise (NEH, CP, EP)

³Come, have no fear; God's son is here,

His love all loves exceeding: (NEH, CP, EP)

⁴Some versions replace the last half of the second and third stanzas with "This, this is Christ the King…". (UMH, TH)

⁵The cross he bore for me, for you (EP)

⁶Hail, hail, the Saviour comes, (NEH, CP, EP)

⁷All tongues and peoples own him, (NEH, CP, EP)

⁸Let every heart enthrone Him: (NEH, CP, EP)

⁹While Mary sings a lullaby, (NEH, CP, EP)

EP: English Praise

NEH: New English Hymnal (40)

CP: Common Praise (74) (the most recent edition of the Hymns Ancient and Modern series of hymnals)

UMH: United Methodist Hymnal

TH: The Hymnal 1982

Recordings

• Josh Groban (Noël, 2007)
• Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige (My Christmas, 2009)

External links

• Free sheet music of What Child Is This? for SATB from Cantorion.org
• What Child Is This? on TradTune.com