O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my side until morning is nigh.
Be near me Lord Jesus,
I ask thee to stay.
Close by me forever,
And love my I pray.
Bless all the dear children,
In thy tender care.
And take them to heaven,
To be with thee there.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.
They know that Santa's on his way;
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother's child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.
And so I'm offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you!
Welcome...or welcome back again this year...whatever the case may be! We're proud to once again be presenting the very best free Christmas music downloads, mostly from independent artists. Of course, each artist has their own story...and that's why we provide you with their web site info (as available), and we really do encourage you to visit them, listen to what else they offer, buy an album, or at the very least... leave a comment to let you know that you appreciate what they do! Be sure to subscribe via email or RSS to be updated when new songs are posted.
Here are the first members of the Class of 2009:
* Bob Bennett - This thoughtful singer/songwriter has made a powerful impact on Christian music fans for the past 30 years, and he's offering up a beautiful piece called Brightest and Best, from his new album Christmastide. [Filed under Contemporary Vocal]
* Ken Medema - He's been pounding out great tunes at the piano for many decades (and we've been fans since the Seventies!). He's sharing Here Is The One, from his album Watching The Sky. [Filed under Contemporary Vocal]
* The Sonflowerz - A Colorado-based "sister act" (Elissa and Becca Leander) have brought us their smooth-as-silk version of O Come All Ye Faithful, from their album Beautiful Miracle. [Filed under Traditional Vocal]
* LaJuana Murphy-Brann - A gospel pianist who brings her own brand of soul to the classics Go Tell It On The Mountain and O Holy Night [Filed under Traditional Instrumental]
* Silvia Fleming - A gifted jazz vocalist, sharing her take on In A Lowly Manger Sleeping, from her album, Love for Christmas. Words by legendary church hymn writer, Fanny Crosby.[Filed under Traditional Vocal]
Some of the special artists who brought us their music to share with you last year included:
* Jars Of Clay - The band that produced big radio and MTV hits like Flood and Crazy Times
* Sixpence None The Richer - Fronted by gifted lead singer Leigh Nash, Sixpence had major pop hits with Kiss Me and There She Goes
* Straight No Chaser - A smooth-as-silk acapella group who graduated from college and went their separate ways, until their smash 8 MILLION YouTube views brought them to the attention of the CEO of Atlantic Records
* Sherrie Keys - Who sings with Revelation Choir at the 26,000 member West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, and whose first album (to be released next year) includes songs written by Michael McDonald, Marvin Winans and Al Green
* Tonic Sol-fa is a group of four seriously-hip vocalizers. You will not want to miss their acapella rendition of Joy to the World
* Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Joel Rakes has created a holiday tradition for himself by recording a 5-song EP of Christmas music each year for the past 3 years. He's brought us two songs to share here, and you'll want to visit his site for more
* Bethan Marshall is a British singer-songwriter who appears on A Zang Christmas...a completely free album download from Zang Productions. We were really impressed by her soulful, intimate acapella delivery of O Come, Come Emanuel
* Jenny Jordan Frogley & David Osmond (yes, from THE Osmond Family...part of their Next Generation) have recorded a beautiful anthemic Christmas song called Joy To Everyone...in two versions, nonetheless (one orchestral, the other more of a pop treatment). Also, you can visit the site dedicated to the song and watch the video.
* David Tolley popped onto the public stage completely by accident. No, seriously...when the scheduled guest pianist didn't show for The Tonight Show in 1985, Johnny Carson asked for a volunteer from the audience. David's hand went up, both hands hit the ivories...and the rest (as they say) is history. This guy can play! You may also have seen his guest appearance on PBS's The Piano Guy.
* Drongomala is a Scotsman who was living in Kerala, India for 2 years recording with Carnatic musicians. His fascinating version of Silent Night was recorded by an interfaith group of singers and musicians there.
* Laffy is a collaboration between a critically-acclaimed Hollywood screenwriter and a TV/film score producer. Your kids will want to hear this rendition of Jingle Bells
* Doug Hammer - A gifted solo pianist who brings us 3 cuts, one of which is an original composition with a gorgeous lead vocal from a vocalist with the equally gorgeous name of Améthyste
* Richard Souther - A Grammy-nominated composer, producer, arranger, sound designer and multi-keyboardist who has built a strong reputation as a top contemporary solo instrumentalist for over twenty years, creating numerous best-selling albums in the New Age, Smooth Jazz, Electronica and the Classical/Crossover markets...as well as acclaimed recordings for the CCM music scene
* The Taj Motel Trio is an 8-piece ska-punk band from Georgia. Their punchy, energetic delivery definitely brings a different (and fun!) feel to a couple of traditional Christmas carols
* And finally, we heard from Aaron Kane, who downloaded piano instrumentals of traditional hymns from Stephen Bashaw and Solomon Keal from our site and had fun in the studio doing remix/mashups with his own vocals. We thought they were quite beautiful and wanted to share them with you as well.
Comments (0)