Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Fiddle by @MICHAELBURNYEAT, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is a Christian hymn whose lyrics were written in 1811 by the English bishop Reginald Heber, and has since entered the mainstream of American culture as a carol, specifically in the case of this melody, as other melodies also exist. The first verse of this rendition was added subsequently in American hymnals and does not belong to Heber's original text.

This rendition showcases the typological features of American folk music of today, with the instrumentation consisting of an acoustic guitar, mandolin, electric bass guitar, and the fiddle played by Michael.

Lyrics:
Hail the blest morn, see the great Mediator
Down from the regions of glory descend!
Shepherds, go worship the babe in the manger;
Lo, for his guard the bright angels attend.

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning
Dawn on our darkness and lend us Thine aid
Star in the east, the horizon adorning
Guide where our infant Redeemer was laid!

Cold on His cradle the dew drops are shining
Low lies His bed with the beasts of the stall
Angels adore Him, in slumbers reclining,
Maker and Monarch, and Saviour of all,

Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,
Odors of Edom and off’rings divine?
Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gifts would His favor secure;
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration,
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.