O Bethlem Town Tonight Is Cold

O Bethlem town tonight is cold

Author: Gordon Bottomley (1902)
Tune: ST. CHRYSOSTOM (Barnby)
Published in 1 hymnal

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Representative Text

1. O Bethlem town tonight is cold,
And Bethlem town is very dark;
Down tumbling street, on upland wold
Stirs neither wife nor patriarch;
No travelers the inn doors seek
Where still the gust stirred signboards creak.

2. The dull, dumb shepherds of the heath
Are warm beside their wives in bed;
The mildewed manger chills beneath
The wet thatch gaping overhead;
The ancient stars are tired and dim,
And no new star announces Him.

3. Or is it that we cannot hear
The least of spiritual songs,
And know not some strange joy more near
Than too familiar angel throngs?
Of Him the greater is our need
Whose life has dwindled to a creed.

4. Because we know the Lord once woke
Unto a far off people’s pain,
We dream, a numb bewildered folk,
That He might think to come again
And save, through new enlightening cares,
A world more sorrowful than theirs.

Author: Gordon Bottomley

Gordon Bottomley (1874–1948) was an English poet, known particularly for his verse dramas. He was partly disabled by tubercular illness. His main influences were the later Victorian Romantic poets, the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris. See also in: Wikipedia  Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: O Bethlem town tonight is cold
Title: O Bethlem Town Tonight Is Cold
Author: Gordon Bottomley (1902)
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #4719
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The Cyber Hymnal #4719

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