This carol, unusually, gives Joseph a ‘voice’ in the stable as he expresses his hopes for his newborn son. (Find a printable score below the words and hear the first verse and chorus from the video file beneath the score)
‘This manger’s well made’,
said Joseph to Mary,
‘Its joints are a joy
to a carpenter’s eye’.
‘I hope that our son
will be skilled with timber,
so neighbours we serve
will be e’er satisfied.
‘Oh Joseph love,
you are so wise and good.
yet our son will, perhaps,
work with far more than
wood.’
‘That crook there is shaped
with skill and perception;
‘tis made for a
shepherd
who’ll both dare
and save’.
‘I’ll show our
son how
sheep are
protected,
so shepherds will
ask him,
to shape them good
staves.
Oh Joseph love etc
‘This yoke is a work
of marvellous
honing.
It never will
chafe:
the ox scarce need
a goad.
Our son must learn
ways
of both beast and
ploughman,
then contour his yokes
to ease burdensome
loads’.
Oh Joseph love etc.
‘I‘ll teach him the
strengths,
Of timber, dear
Mary,
show him all the
things
he must and must not
do’.
‘Like ne’er make a
cross
for fierce Roman soldiers,
Nor sell them our
wood
To hang slave,
thief or Jew.’
‘Oh Joseph love,
you are so wise and good.
Yes, our son when time
comes
Will be smitten by wood.
Listen to the first verse and chorus
on YouTube at https://youtu.be/7qCqJzlP3N0
‘Stable Talk’ is part of ’The Cross and Cosmos’ Christmas collection which you can find HERE
