If On A Winters Night

Sting If On A Winters Night Lyrics
1.Gabriel's Message

The Angel Gabriel from heaven came
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame
'All hail' said he thou Holy Maiden Mary
(to holy mary)
Most highly favoured lady Gloria
(Most highly favoured lady Gloria)

For know a blessed mother thou shalt be
All generations laud and honor thee
Thy son shall be Emmanuel as seers foretold
Most highly favoured lady Gloria
(Most highly favoured lady Gloria)

The gentle Mary meekly bowed her head
'To me, be as it pleaseth God' she said
'My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name'
Most highly favoured lady Gloria
(Most highly favoured lady Gloria)

Of her Emmanuel, the Christ was born
In Bethlehem all on a Christmas morn
And everyone through out the world will ever say
Most highly favoured lady Gloria
(Most highly favoured lady Gloria)


2.Soul Cake

A soul cake, a soul cake,
Please, good missus, a soul cake,
An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry,
Any good thing to make us all merry.
A soul cake, a soul cake,
Please, good missus, a soul cake,
One for Peter, two for Paul,
And three for Him that made us all.
God bless the master of this house
And the mistress also,
And all the little children
That round your table grow;
The cattle in your stable,
The dogs at your front door,
And all that dwell within your gates
We'll wish you ten times more.
A soul cake, a soul cake
Go down into the cellar
And see what you can fi nd;
If the barrels are not empty
We'll hope that you'll be kind;
We'll hope that you'll be kind
With your apple and your pear,
And we'll come no more a-soulin'
Till Christmas time next year.
A soul cake, a soul cake
The streets are very dirty,
Me shoes are very thin,
I have a little pocket
To put a penny in;
If you haven't got a penny
A ha'penny will do;
If you haven't got a ha'penny
God bless you.
A soul cake, a soul cake


3.There Is No Rose Of Such Virtue

1. There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu;
Alleluia.

2. For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space;
Res miranda.

3. By that rose we may well see
That he is God in persons three,
Pari forma.

4. The angels sungen the shepherds to:
Gloria in excelsis deo:
Gaudeamus.

5. Leave we all this worldly mirth,
And follow we this joyful birth;
Transeamus.

6. Alleluia, res miranda,
Pares forma, gaudeamus,
Transeamus.


4.The Snow It Melts The Soonest

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing,
And the corn it ripens fastest when the frost is settling in,
And when a woman tells me my face she'll soon forget,
Before we'll part, I'll wage a croon, she's fain to follow't
yet.

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing,
And the swallow skims without a thought as long as it is spring;
But when spring goes, and winter blows, my lassie you'll be
fain,
For all your pride, to follow me across the stormy main.

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing,
And the bee that flew when summer shone, in winter cannot sting;
I've seen a woman's anger melt betwixt the night and morn,
Oh it's surely not a harder thing to tame a woman's scorn.

Oh, never say me farewell here, no farewell I'll receive,
And you shall set me to the stile and kiss and take your leave;
I'll stay until the curlew calls and the martlet takes his wing,
Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing.


5.Christmas At Sea

All day we fought the tides between the North
Head and the South,
All day we hauled the frozen sheets to scape the
storm's wet mouth,
All day as cold as charity, in bitter pain and
dread,
For very life and nature we tacked from head
to head.
We gave the South a wider berth, for there the
tide-race roared;
But every tack we made we brought the North
Head close aboard:
We saw the cliffs and houses and the breakers
running high,
And the coastguard in his garden, his glass
against his eye.
The frost was on the village roofs as white as
ocean foam;
The good red fi res were burning bright in every
'long-shore home;
The windows sparkled clear and the chimneys
volleyed out;
And I vow we sniffed the victuals as the vessel
went about.
The bells upon the church were rung with a
mighty jovial cheer;
For it's just that I should tell you how(of all days
in the year)
This day of our adversity was blessed Christmas
morn,
And the house above the coastguard's was the
house where I was born.
And well I knew the talk they had, the talk that
was of me,
Of the shadow on the household and the son that
went to sea;
And, oh, the wicked fool I seemed, in every kind
of way,
To be here and hauling frozen ropes on blessed
Christmas Day.


6.Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
Lo, how a rose e'er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung,
Of Jesse's lineage coming,
As men of old have sung.
It came a fl ow'ret bright
Amid the cold of winter
When half-spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
This Rose that I have in mind.
And with Mary we behold it,
The Virgin Mother so sweet and so kind.
To show God's love aright,
She bore to men a Saviour
When half-spent was the night.
7 Cold Song
What power art thou who from below
Hast made me rise unwillingly and slow
From beds of everlasting snow?
See'st thou not how stiff, how stiff and wondrous
old,
Far, far unfi t to bear the bitter cold?
I can scarcely move or draw my breath:
Let me, let me, let me freeze again to death.


7.Cold Song



What power art thou who from below
Hast made me unwillingly and slow
From beds of everlasting snow?
See'st thou not how stiff, how stiff and wondrous old,
Far, far unfit to bear the bitter cold?
I can scarcely move or draw my breath;
Let me, let me, let me freeze again to death.


8.The Burning Babe

As I in hoary winter's night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow ;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear ;

Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed
As though his floods should quench his flames which with his
tears were fed.
Alas, quoth he, but newly born in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!

My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and
scorns ;
The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals,
The metal in this furnace wrought are men's defiled souls,

For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,
So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.
With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.


9.Now Winter Comes Slowly

Now Winter comes Slowly, Pale, Meager and Old
First trembling with Age, and then quiv'ring with Cold;
Benumb'd with hard Frosts, and with Snow cover'd o'er,
Prays the Sun to Restore him, and Sings as before.


10.The Hounds Of Winter

Mercury falling
I rise from my bed,
Collect my thoughts together
I have to hold my head
It seems that she's gone
And somehow I am pinned by
The Hounds of Winter
Howling in the wind
I walk through the day
My coat around my ears
I look for my companion
I have to dry my tears
It seems that she's gone
Leaving me too soon
I'm as dark as December
I'm as cold as the Man in the Moon

I still see her face
As beautiful as day
It's easy to remember
Remember my love that way
All I hear is that lonesome sound
The Hounds of Winter
They follow me down

I can't make up the fire
The way that she could
I spend all my days
In the search for dry wood
Board all the windows and close the front door
I can't believe she won't be here anymore

I still see her face
As beautiful as day
It's easy to remember
Remember my love that way
All I hear is that lonesome sound
The Hounds of Winter
They follow me down

A season for joy
A season for sorrow
Where she's gone
I will surely, surely follow
She brightened my day
She warmed the coldest night
The Hounds of Winter
They got me in their sights

I still see her face
As beautiful as day
It's easy to remember
Remember my love that way
All I hear is that lonesome sound
The Hounds of Winter
They harry me down


11.Balulalow



O my deare hert, young Jesu sweit,
Prepare thy creddil in my spreit
And I sall rock thee in my hert,
And never mair from thee depert.

But I sall praise thee evermore
With sangis sweit unto thy gloir.
The knees of my hert sall I bow,
And sing that richt Balulalow.


12.Cherry Tree Carol

When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he,
He courted Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee.

When Joseph and Mary were walking one day,
Here is apples and cherries so fair to behold.

Then Mary spoke to Joseph so meek and so mild:
'Joseph, gather me some cherries, for I am with child.'

Then Joseph flew in anger, in anger he flew:
'O let the father of the baby gather cherries for you.'

Well, the cherry-tree bowed low down, bowed down to the ground,
And Mary gathered cherries while Joseph stood down.

Then Joseph took Mary all on his right knee,
Crying, 'Lord, have mercy for what I have done.'

When Joseph was an old man, an old man was he,
He courted Virgin Mary, the Queen of Galilee.


13.Lullaby For An Anxious Child



Hush child
Let your mommy sleep in to the night until we rise
Hush child
Let me soothe the shining tears that gather in your eyes

Hush child
I won't leave I'll stay with you to cross this Bridge of Sighs
Hush child
I can't help the look of accusation in your eyes
In your eyes

The world is broken now
All in sorrow
Wise men hang their heads

Hush child
Let your mommy sleep in to the night until we rise
Hush child
All the strength I'll need to fight, I'll find inside your eyes
In your eyes


14.Hurdy Gurdy Man(Perform)

In the snow there
Stands a hurdy gurdy man,
With his frozen fingers
Plays as best he can.

Barefoot on the ice
He shuffles to and fro
And his empty plate
It only fills with snow.

No one wants to hear
His hurdy gurdy song,
Hungry dogs surround him
and before too long

He will fall asleep
and then before too long
He'll just let it happen,
happen come what may.

Play his hurdy gurdy
till his dying day,

Watching you, old man,
I see myself in you.
One day I will play
This hurdy gurdy too.


15.You Only Cross My Mind In Winter

Always this winter child,
December's sun sits low against the sky
Cold light on frozen fields,
The cattle in their stable lowing.

When two walked this winter road,
Ten thousand miles seemed nothing to us then,
Now one walks with heavy tread
The space between their footsteps slowing

All day the snow did fall,
What's left of the day is close drawn in,
I speak your name as if you'd answer me,
But the silence of the snow is deafening

How well do I recall our arguments,
Our logic owed no debts or recompense,
Philosophy and faith were ghosts
That we would chase until
The gates of heaven were broken

But something makes me turn, I don't know,
To see another's footsteps there in the snow,
I smile to myself and then I wonder why it is
You only cross my mind in winter