Sleep! Holy Babe!

Sleep! Holy Babe! upon Thy mother’s breast;
Great Lord of earth and sea and sky,
How sweet it is to see Thee lie
In such a place of rest,
In such a place of rest.

Sleep! Holy Babe! Thine angels watch around,
All bending low with folded wings,
Before th’incarnate King of kings,
In reverent awe profound.
In reverent awe profound.

Sleep! Holy Babe! while I with Mary gaze
In joy upon that face awhile,
Upon the loving infant smile
Which there divinely plays.
Which there divinely plays.

Sleep! Holy Babe! ah! take Thy brief repose;
Too quickly will Thy slumbers break,
And Thou to lengthened pains awake
That death alone shall close,
That death alone shall close.

Historical Information

Words: Edward Caswall (1814-1878)
Music: John B. Dykes (1823-1876), in Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Steiner, Christmas Carols New and Old, First Series (Novello, 1871)