Wenchoster Carol Sheet

The Wenchoster

Yuletide resource used at the Bishop Beaver College Yuletide Fête

Sylvia Calico, chorister of renoun

Bishop Beaver College Annual Yuletide Fête

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious sound of old,
From choirboys filing into church,
Each with their head of gold;
Their treble voices filled the air,
Echoing long and broad;
Until the bats flew from the roof,
With each angelic chord!

Still through the aisles the people come,
With carol sheets all torn,
To sing the songs they sang of old,
Before the choir was born.
Above the glow of the candles bright,
The organist sits secure,
And plays with pedals and stops and things,
To make the music pure.

Yet whilst the service moves along,
With readings short and long,
The Verger notices wisps of smoke,
And knows that something’s wrong!
The Christmas tree that’s by the door
Is glowing twice as bright,
The lamps fused and melted down,
The whole damn thing’s alight!

And now the carols are hastened on
By choir and musical group,
As servers try to douse the flames
With water from the stoup.
In vain the priest doth call for calm,
The people are fleeing away.
“Ah, well,” he sighs, “at least it means.
I shan’t work on Christmas Day.”

Tune: It came upon the midnight clear - traditional