Lullay, Thou little tiny Child
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child
By, by, lully, lullay
O sisters, too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor Youngling for whom we sing
By, by, lully, lullay
Herod the King, in his raging
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight
All children young, to slay
Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee
And ever mourn and say
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing
By, by, lully, lullay
About This Song
The "Coventry Carol" is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story of Jesus' birth as told from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew. The carol itself refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed, and takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children.
Within the pageant, the carol is sung by three women of Bethlehem, who enter on stage with their children immediately after Joseph is warned by an angel to take his family to Egypt.
