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| Page and monarch, forth they went ... (Source) |
Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel
"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou knows it telling:
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain"
"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear the thither"
Page and monarch, forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather
"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how
I can go no longer"
"Ark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly"
In his master's step he trod
Where the snow lay dented
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
Also known as Boxing Day in the UK and other places in the Commonwealth ...
Hope that your Christmas was Merry and Bright, and it's on to the New Year!
One of the best carols, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI do love this one.
DeleteCrusty Old TV Tech Here. A Very Merry Christmas, and Feast of St. Stephen to you all! And to Boxing Day...I understand Her Majesty's Army (still have a hard time with "His...") had, or may still have, a Boxing Day tradition. The officers and NCO's exchange places for a day. Sounds like an excellent morale booster to me. Sarge gets to put his feet up on The Old Man's desk, while The Old Man busies himself over in the motorpool cracking the whip on recalcitrant Tommies! That would have been a good tradition to import into the Confusion Command over here in the Colonies, back in my day, sort of like how we got Dinings Out from the RAF. They still do Dinings Out, with Mr Vice, and the Grog Bowl, don't they (COTT asks fearfully)...?
ReplyDeleteThey did at least until 1999, Lord knows what they do now.
DeleteCrusty Old TV Tech again...Dinings IN, I meant to write...Dinings Out had invited family, etc. and did not feature Mr Grog Bowl, Sir! or Carrier Landings...
ReplyDeleteAt Dining's Out we still had a Grog Bowl, can't imagine not having one!
DeleteAs a British person I can confirm that Boxing Day is WAY more enjoyable than Christmas Day.
DeleteRetired
Far more relaxing in my estimation!
DeleteIndeed
DeleteRetired
And that makes all the difference!
DeleteTen thousand Swedes
ReplyDeleteRan through the reeds,
Chased by one Norwegian.
Ten thousand more,
Ran to the shore,
In the battle of Copenhagen.
A little Scandinavian rivalry is always healthy, yes? (Keeps them in the north, away from the shores of Britain.)
DeleteHappy Stephensmas!
ReplyDeleteAnd to you my friend.
DeleteOn the album cover, Badgers radiate cheerfulness, don't they?
ReplyDeleteIndeed they do.
Delete