Little children, wake and listen

Representative Text

1 Little child­ren, wake and list­en!
Songs are break­ing o’er the earth;
While the stars in Hea­ven glist­en
Hear the news of Je­sus’ birth.

2 Long ago, to lone­ly mea­dows
Angels brought the mes­sage down;
Still each year thro’ mid­night sha­dows,
It is heard in ev­ery town.

3 What is this that they are tell­ing,
Singing in the qui­et street?
While their voic­es high are swell­ing,
What sweet words do they re­peat?

4 "Praise to God!" The an­gels’ chor­us
Rings through all the earth again.
Sweetly sounds the ec­ho o’er us,
"Peace on earth, good will to men."

5 Little child­ren, wake and list­en!
Songs are ring­ing through the earth;
While the stars in Heav­en glist­en,
Hear the news of Jesus’ birth.


Source: The Cyber Hymnal #16444

Author: Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

Adapter: J. Cozens

(27 April 1906 - 5 April 1999) Born in Tottenham, London; moved to Canada in 1913, aged 7. Worked, mainly in Toronto, as an administrator, choir conductor, tenor, etc. Co-founded Toronto's Council Choir and Orpheus Choir. Died, aged 92, in Port Hope, Ontario. --[Source??] Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Little children, wake and listen
Author: Anonymous
Adapter: J. Cozens
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Little children, wake and listen. [Christmas.] Appeared anonymously in the S.P.C.K. Appendix, 1869; Horder's Book of Praise for Children, 1875; and many others of later date, including the Scotch Church Hymnary, 1898, &c.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #16444
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #16444

Include 15 pre-1979 instances
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