O COME, LITTLE CHILDREN
O Come, Little Children
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square perform "O Come, Little Children"
ABOUT 'O COME, LITTLE CHILDREN'
Music: Johann A. P. Schulz
Text: Christoph von Schmid
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
The lyrics to this affectingly simple German Christmas carol were penned in 1798 by a Catholic priest, Christoph von Schmid. Many of Schmid’s poems and books were written in direct and simple language, as he hoped to teach children of faith and belief. This poem was an invitation to children especially to come see the Christ Child in the manger. Though Schmid’s verse was set to various melodies in the 19th century, it is best-known in an 1835 setting that matched the poem to the tune of a children’s song from 1790 composed by the German court musician Johann A. P. Schulz. Schulz’s secular song, though it set different words, originally had the same first line and title as Schmid’s Nativity poem, “Ihr Kinderlein, kommet.”
LISTEN TO THE FULL SONG
LYRICS
O come, little children,
O come, one and all.
O come to the cradle
In Bethlehem’s stall.
Come look in the manger,
There sleeps on the hay,
An Infant so lovely,
In light bright as day.
The hay is His pillow,
The manger His bed.
The beasts stand in wonder
To gaze on His head.
Yet there, in the stable,
So humble and poor,
Come shepherds and wisemen
To kneel at His door.
CONT...
O bow with the shepherds
On low bended knee,
With hearts full of thanks
For the gift which we see.
O sing little children,
To Him you adore.
Sing joy to the world,
Love and peace evermore.