Christ — First Advent

It came upon the midnight clear

No. 291
Metre C. M. D.
Tune CAROL.
Words Edmund H. Sears.
Music Richard S. Willis.
Key B-flat major
Singing key B♭ major
Time 6/8
3 stanzas

Words

It came upon the midnight clear,That glorious song of old,From angels bending near the earthTo touch their harps of gold;"Peace on the earth, good will to men,From heaven's all-gracious King."The world in solemn stillness lay,To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,With peaceful wings unfurled;And still their heavenly music floatsO'er all the weary world:Above its sad and lowly plainsThey bend on hovering wing,And ever o'er its Babel soundsThe blessed angels sing.

But with the woes of sin and strifeThe world has suffered long;Beneath the angel-strain have rolledTwo thousand years of wrong;And man, at war with man, hears notThe love song which they bring:O cease, ye mortals, cease your strife,And hear the angels sing!

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «CHRIST—FIRST ADVENT.»; hymn number «291» (large), tune name «CAROL. C. M. D.» centred over the music (condensed capitals; the «D.» in a smaller size), «RICHARD S. WILLIS.» at the right (capitals and small capitals). Stanza 1 is interlinear, one line per system, with «1.» before «It»: system 1 = verse lines 1–2, system 2 = lines 3–4, system 3 = lines 5–6; lines 7–8 are printed in italics as a second line under system 2, preceded by «D. S.—», and are sung there after the «D. S.» at the end of system 3 (the music returns to the segno at the start of system 2 and ends at «Fine.»). Stanza 1 below is assembled in the order sung. The opening quote of line 5 is printed «''Peace» and the closing one «King.''»; quotes and apostrophes are written straight. «heaven'sall» is set without a space under the staves. The italic reference line «484, 83, 450.» (= the same words may be sung to the tunes of hymns 484, 83 or 450) stands under the music; stanzas 2–3 follow as text in the left column, numbered «2», «3», with «Edmund H. Sears.» in italics after stanza 3. Lines 2, 4, 6, 8 of each stanza are indented in the print. The print sets a thin space before «;», «:» and «!» («unfurled ;», «world :», «sing !»); it is closed up here. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.