554. Babe of Bethlehem
[I included William Walker's epic Christmas song "The Babe of Bethlehem" in my An Appalachian Christmas book published by Mel Bay in the 1990s. It appeared in William Walker's 1935 Southern Harmony. ]
554. Babe of Bethlehem
This is most of the first stanza of 'Babe of Bethlehem,' reprinted in full, with music, by Jackson SFSEA 82-3, from William Walker's Southern Harmony (compiled at Spartanburg, S. C, printed at New Haven, Conn., 1835). Dr. Brown's note "(Cut off)" may refer to the last two lines of stanza 1, which read:
As was foretold by prophets old,
Isaiah, Jeremiah.
The part of the stanza remembered by his informant has two errors: "Come view this sacred ration" for "Come hear this declaration" and "loyal Jews" for "royal Jews."
'Ye Nations All.' From MS in Dr. Brown's hand, on rough paper, evidently taken down from a record or from dictation. At the end he has written: "(Cut off)."
Ye nations all, on you I call.
Come view this sacred ration.
And don't refuse this glorious news,
And Jesus and salvation.
To loyal Jews came first the news
Of Christ the great Messiah.
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554. Babe of Bethlehem
'Ye Nations All.' Anonymous singer. No place or date given. See the note in III 612. Although textually the last lines are missing, it seems quite evident that, as the remaining melody going with these lines is also missing, the last two lines as given in III could well be sung to measures 5-8 of the first phrase. It is interesting to find that Jackson considers "To royal Jews
came first the News" as chorus. This seems to be confirmed by TSFL 757.
F-491
Ye na - tions all,- you I call,
Come view this sa - cred ra - tion,
And don't re - fuse this glo-rious news,
And Je - sus and- sal - va - tion.
To loy - al Jews came
first the news Of Christ the great- Mes - si ah.
For melodic relationship cf. ***SFSEA 82; TSFL 757-
Scale: Hexatonic (3), plagal. Tonal Center: e-flat. Structure (as it stands,
incomplete): abab^cb^ (2,2,2,2,2,2) = mm^n (4,4,4) = barform; b shares its
ending with a. If the assumption expressed above could be proved, we would
have: aa^ba^ or a Reprisenbar. As it stands: circular tune (V).