Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

Rise Up Shepherd and Follow

[Traditional Negro spiritual, arranged 2012 by Becka deHaan]

There’s a star on the east on Christmas morn’;

Rise up shepherd and follow;
It will lead to the place where Christ was born;
Rise up shepherd and follow.
 
There’s a star on the east on Christmas morn’;
Rise up shepherd and follow;
It will lead to the place where Christ was born;
Rise up shepherd and follow.

Chorus:

Follow, follow;

Rise up shepherd and follow.
Follow the star over Bethlehem;
Rise up shepherd and follow.

If you pay good heed to the angel’s words

Rise up shepherd and follow;
You’ll forget your flocks, you’ll forget your herds;
Rise up shepherd and follow.

[Chorus]

[Interlude]

Pay good heed to the angel…

Follow the star…
O, o, I said, follow, follow;
Rise up shepherd and follow;

Follow the star over Bethlehem;

(Follow, follow.)
O, rise up and follow!
(Follow the star over Bethlehem.)

O, leave your flocks, forget your herds; (Follow, follow.)

Don’t need no baggage, just get on board!
(Follow the star over Bethlehem.) Follow the child’s cry!
 

That's All We Know (The Carol of the Magi)

That’s All We Know (The Carol of the Magi)

Copyright 2011 by Becka deHaan

 

It wasn’t in the almanac
For the stars to shift
At nine fifty-four PM
That December twenty-fifth.
Outshining every constellation
Was a star we hadn’t come across before;
And it never left our wide-eyed view,
What a night sky to explore!
This astronomical phenomenon, it could only mean one thing:
Somewhere on this ailing planet, there had just arrived a King!
So we headed westward…

 

Chorus:
Neither bothering to look at the time;
Nor bringing a map to trace our travel line;
Our strength in remembering the Light of the world has shone.
Always finding necessities along the way;
Telling each other we’ll get there someday;
And wanting to stop, but the star keeps a-rollin’ on.
We may be wisemen
But that’s all we know.

We entered Jerusalem,

The city of a chosen folk;
Asked them, “Where is the child born King of the Jews?”
And reading from the scroll, they spoke:
“Bethlehem is, by no means, the least of Judah’s towns;”
From her there would come a leader, in whom righteousness abounds!
And the star came once more…

Chorus:
Neither bothering to look at the time;
Nor bringing a map to trace our travel line;
Our strength in remembering the Light of the world has shone.
Always finding necessities along the way;
Telling each other we’ll get there someday;
And wanting to stop, but the star keeps a-rollin’ on.
We may be wisemen…

Finally to a halt it slowed
At a carpenter’s abode
And the child inside was playing with a toy;
But at our knock he squealed with glee
And we sang on bended knee,
Giving gifts we thought as king he would employ.
And beneath the moon’s last gleam
We all woke up from the same dream
A sign saying not to go back through the holy land…
 
Chorus:
Neither bothering to look at the time;
Nor bringing a map to trace our travel line;
Our strength in remembering the Light of the world has shone.
Always finding necessities along the way;
Telling each other we’ll get home someday;
And wanting to stop, but the star keeps a-rollin’ on.
We may be wisemen
But that’s all we know.
Yeh that’s all we know.
We’re goin’ home.

[ad libs]

Over the mountain, over the plain;

Take me home on the midnight train…

The Baby in the Hay

The Baby on the Hay
Copyright 2011 by Becka deHaan

 How many sleeps until

The long-awaited day?
When gifts are shared
And food prepared
Bright colours on display;
The family reunites
And lets the music play
To celebrate
A love so great
The baby on the hay.

How many reigns until

The long-awaited king?
With trumpet blast
And chariot fast
Bow strong as David’s sling;
Who’ll rule in righteousness,
God’s statutes to obey,
Stretching a hand
To the widow and
The baby on the hay.
 
But none were prepared for the birth of the King
So they laid the child down in a barn;
Let all of our clatter not drown out the song
Of the lone caroler, donning snow-covered yarn…]

The halls may be decked

But let us expect…
“The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.”