The final carol has arrived!
There is in my opinion only one carol and that has to be We Three Kings by Edward John Hopkins (1818-1901)
This carol is a personal favourite of mine and I remember absolutely loving this carol as a child. It was also the first Christmas carol that I could play off by heart on the flute. I think I drove my parents crazy playing it over and over again.
We three kings of Orient are
We three kings of Orient are,
bearing gifts we traverse afar
field and fountain, moor and mountain,
following yonder star:
O star of wonder, star of night,
star with royal beauty bright,
westward leading, still proceeding,
guide us to thy perfect light.
Born a king on Bethlehem plain,
gold I bring to crown him again,
king for ever, ceasing never
over us all to reign:
Frankincense to offer have I,
incense owns a deity night;
prayer and praising, all men raising,
worship him, God most high:
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
breathes a life of gathering gloom;
sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
sealed in the stone-cold tomb:
Glorious now behold him arise,
king and God and sacrifice.
Heaven sings: “Alleluia’;
‘Alleluia,’ the earth replies:
Edward John Hopkins
Lady Book Dragon 