Away in a Manger

384 Away in a Manger

1 Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
   the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;
   the stars in the heavens looked down where He lay,
   the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

2 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.

3 Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay
   close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
   Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
   and fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.
                         Anonymous
                         The Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I thought I had posted on this in the past, but apparently not. You can read all the history about it you want by searching on the web, but the short story is that it was long attributed to Martin Luther. But, there is no record of it anywhere before the 1800s in the United States. There is no German precursor and it certainly doesn't read like Luther! The Wiki has a good round-up of the history.
</idle musing>