Peace o'er the world, her olive branch extends,
And white-robed innocence from heaven decends,
Swift fly the years and rise th' expected morn;
O, spring to light! O spring to light! Th' auspicious Babe be born!
Swift fly the years, and rise the expected morn;
O, spring to light! Th' auspicious Babe be born!

Hark! a glad voice, the lonely desert cheers,
Prepare the way, a God, a God appears;
A God, a God, the vocal hills reply;
The rocks proclaim, the rocks proclaim th' approaching Deity.
A God, a God, the vocal hills reply;
The rocks proclaim th' approaching Deity.

The Saviour comes, by ancient seers foretold;
Hear Him, ye deaf, and all ye blind behold!
He, from thick films, shall purge the visual ray
And on the sightless eyeball pour the day.
He, from thick films, shall purge the visual ray
And on the sightless eyeball pour the day.

abc | midi | pdf

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Source: Ian Russell, A Festival of Carols - A first Collection of Derbyshire Carols, Sheffield, 2000

Notes:
Village Carols is an ongoing project to preserve and promote local carol traditions, and to make them available in all forms - audio recordings, musical notation, historical context, etc. I am indebted to Ian Russell for his work in this area and for his permission to publish the notation given here. For details of current publications, see http://www.sgpublishing.co.uk/gm/vc/vcpubs.html

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