Addison Road

I guess women hymnists were more common than I thought. This gem was written by Emily E. Elliott in 1864. Her father was rector at St. Mark’s Church in Brighton. (Go pastor’s daughters!) Music by Timothy R. Matthews, 1876.

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.

When the heav’ns shall ring, and her choirs shall sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.”

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Female poets were getting to be quite common in the 19th century, but it was rare for poems by women to make it into the hymnal. This was written by Christina Georgina Rossetti sometime before 1872 and has been set to music three different times by Gustav Holst, Harold Edwin Darke, and Thomas B. Strong. (I only know the Holst version, which is truly beautiful.)

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen
Snow on snow
Snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter
Long ago

Our God, heaven cannot hold him
Nor earth sustain
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God incarnate
Jesus Christ

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air
But his mother only
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the beloved
With a kiss

What can I give him
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb
If I were a wiseman
I would do my part
Yet what can I give him-
Give my heart

I was never a huge fan of this song until I heard First Call’s last Christmas album, on which they do a breathtaking arrangement of this hymn with Russ Taff. He can sang.