[Guest]

I am trying to identify a carol I heard some years ago while listening to Radio 4 while in bed with 'flu. It may have been called the Lichfield Carol or the Lincoln Carol, but I could have imagined this.

As I recall, the first verse is about Mary wondering over the infant Jesus, while the second is about the preparations for the crucifixion - the iron in the earth that will be made into nails, the briar roots growing in the earth that men will twist into a crown of thorns, and the axes ringing in the woods to cut a cross to hold a king.

Any help you could give me to locate this carol would be greatly appreciated!

With best wishes, Andrew Hill

[lancecornea]

I wish I could help you Andrew but I've searched all my carol books and recordings and can't find anything with the lyrics you've mentioned.

Lance
_________________
The older I get, the better I was.

[DavidF]

From what you're saying, it sounds like the Ukrainian carol translated as "Long the night"

Lyrics are roughly

Long the night but kind the dawn in Bethlehem when her son was born.
She touched his side and stroked his head as she gently laid him to bed.
She held his hands, she kissed his feet, she sang to see a sight so sweet in excelsis gloria.

In the hills the iron lay that men would beat into nails one day,
Where the thorn tree roots go down that men would twist to a crown.
In the wood where an axe would ring to cut a cross that would bear a king,
Mary’s voice rose from afar in excelsis gloria.


The only arrangement I know is by Roy Massey which I believe appears in "Noel! - Carols and Anthems for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany" edited by David Hill (I don't own a copy).

Hereford Cathedral (of course) have recorded this on their "Christmas Carols" CD (Griffin 4016, now deleted, I think).
I believe there is also a recording on "Comfort and Joy" collection by the Saint Cecilia Singers (Lammas CD LAMM129) - label link is http://www.lammas.co.uk/comfort.htm.

There are sound samples of both these performances on these Amazon pages:
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Carols/dp/B00127O2FO/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk?ie=UTF8&qid=1236097141&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y2W2AK/ref=dm_sp_alb

I hope this is the right piece!

[lancecornea]