O Holy Night

O Holy Night
[Traditional]

 

O holy night;

The stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world
In sin and error pining
Till he appeared, and the soul felt its worth.
 
A thrill of hope;
The weary world rejoices;
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn’.

Fall on your knees;

O hear the angel voices;
O night divine;
O night when Christ was born.
O night divine, o night
O night divine.

[Interlude]
 
Chains shall he break
For a slave is our brother;
And in his name, all oppression shall cease.
The King of kings
In thus a lowly manger;
In all our trials
Born to be our friend.
He knows our needs;
To our weakness is no stranger;
Behold your King;
Before him lowly bend;
Behold your King, before him lowly bend.
 
Fall on your knees;
O hear the angel voices;
O night divine;
O night when Christ was born.
O night divine, o night
O night divine.
O night divine, o night
O night divine.

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.”

He Restores my Soul

He Restores My Soul (Psalm 23)
Copyright by Becka deHaan, revised 2009

Living here in this pasture land
I know I have nothing to want.
I can graze and rest in this soft green grass;
And when the sun gets hot, my Shepherd leads me to a cool fresh lake.

If it weren’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be today;
Probably still where he found me, about to be swallowed by that pack of wolves.
But…
Chorus: He restores my soul, for the sake of his own name:
If I’m lost, he’s out there searching, beckoning me back.
I cannot contain my joy, it overflows onto the ground.
And the best part is: This pasture land is home, and I’ll live here for all of time.

We go for walks, my Shepherd and I,
Through winter snow or summer sand.
Sometimes miles and miles in a deadly zone;
But he’s going on ahead, got protection on both sides.

But when all we pass is a tree from time to time,
That is when we’ll burst into that old favourite song.
‘Cause…

[Chorus]

We come home to a table all set out;
My enemies can’t take the scene.

Yeh, incredible goodness and everlasting love
Will accompany me all the days of my life!
And…

He restores my soul, for the sake of his own name:
If I’m lost, he’s out there searching, beckoning me back.
He restores my soul, bringing all of me to life:
Lays my body still, my dizzy mind is given breath.
I cannot contain my joy, it overflows onto the ground.
And the best part is: This pasture land is home;
And the best part is: This pasture land is home;
I’m home, and I’ll live here for all of time.
All of time (ad libs)

A Sunny Storm

A Sunny Storm
Copyright 2006 by Becka deHaan

She said, “Why does the rain keep falling down on me?
They say one day it’s supposed to clear up again.
Can’t remember the last time the sky was blue.
Don’t leave me here to writhe in pain until God knows when!

But now the dawn is breaking;
I guess that means the sun is still around.
The clouds just hide it from my view;
In everything that I go through,
Show me where a beam can be found.”

Chorus: Thunder crashes into rays;
Sunlight fades away to haze;
Snowflakes swirl around to face the brightest star.
On a hot day, north winds blow;
IN a downpour, a rainbow.
Between good and bad, and bad and good is not so far;
‘Cause in its present form
Life is a sunny storm.

He said, “I want to stop the clock on days like these,
Where everything is well and going right.
I feel the sun smiling on the world;
It should last for quite awhile, there’s not a cloud in sight.

But the water cycle still continues;
Clouds are still being formed in the atmosphere.
Something’s gonna go wrong I bet,
‘Cause I know I’m not in Heaven yet,
But I’ll enjoy today while it’s clear!”

[Chorus]

What’s with this tug of war?
When you know you’ve got the victory anyway.
When you come back
There’ll be no mistaking that.
‘Cause it’s gonna be an endlessly bright day, yeh yeh!

Oh, but for now…
[Chorus]

Wait for the Wind

Wait for the Wind
Copyright 2006 by Becka deHaan

Hang on, Sister, your time has not yet come,
Though you truly are prepared to set sail.
Your route’s been chosen, the sun is overhead
And you’ve run every test completely without fail.

But this calm day it does you naught
‘Cause with no wind you’ll stay in one spot.
For the boat to go a good pace the wind must be quite strong—so just wait…
And hope it won’t take long!

Chorus: Wait for the sudden gust for your
Your confirmation;
Wait for the gentle breeze
To determine your next location.
Stay here till you get the cue to take on all you dare;
And when you’re certain of the what and how but unsure of the where,
Seek propelling guidance, without which you won’t win,
But never worry, just wait for the wind.

Hello, Brother, looks like you’re ready
To tuck away the wheels and take to the sky:
The runway’s clear and the engines fueled and running well—
Soon you’ll be thirty-five thousand feet high.

But don’t take off until you know
From which direction the wind does blow.
Go away from it, no control it will bring, but into it…
Supports you under the wings.

[Chorus]

It’s not a passive idleness,
A patience that puts you to sleep;
But it’s an active expectancy:
All alertness you must keep!

Wait for the gust…
Wait for the breeze…
[rest of chorus]
But never worry,
Oooo never worry,
Just wait for the wind.