I first heard of “Coventry Carol” in a novel by Helen MacInnes when she used it at a critical moment in her story. It’s a song that’s probably unfamiliar to many Americans. I know I’ve never heard it sung in church or in concert here in the United States.

The carol is both lullaby and lament, sung by women of Bethlehem to their children whom an enraged Herod had decreed to be slain. It was written in the sixteenth century for The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors held in Coventry. The pageant told the story of the birth of Jesus, beginning with the Annunciation and ending with the killing of the little baby boys of Bethlehem.¹

This is a lovely and poignant rendition of “Coventry Carol” by Valeria Mignaco and Alfonso Marin.

Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child.
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young, to slay.

Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

John MacArthur, preaching on Matthew 2:16-23, said:

“…Those little babies, they didn’t know it but those precious little babies in Bethlehem at that time were the first casualties in the warfare waged between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdoms of His Christ, they were the first casualties. But ultimately the victory would be won, the babies surely, if I read my Bible right, the minute they died went instantly into the presence of God, who gathers the little ones in His arms and says, “Forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom.” And the mothers, they could stop weeping because this very One who was now exiled in Egypt would come back to offer them a salvation that could unite them with their own babies….

“Matthew paints a masterpiece of a picture. Micah, he said the King would come to Bethlehem, and to Bethlehem He came. Hosea, the King would come through Egypt, through Egypt He came. Jeremiah, there would be weeping like Rachel in Ramah of old in the picture of Jeremiah, and there was as the mothers wept over the babies, beside the tomb of Rachel in the Ramah of Bethlehem. And the prophets of old said His name would be Nazarene, and He would be from Nazareth, and so it was. And at each point, He fulfills a prophecy that solidifies His right to reign. And so says Matthew, this is the King, by genealogy, by birth, by worship, by the jealousy of hatred, and by the fulfillment of prophecy this man was born a King, for this cause came He into the world.”²

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In the Anglican ecclesiastical calendar December 28th is The Innocents’ Day on which the little ones slaughtered in Bethlehem are remembered.
Das Massaker der Unschuldigen: François-Joseph Navez. Public Domain.
¹“Coventry Carol“:  The Hymns and Carols of Christmas.
Video by Lutevoice: Valeria Mignaco & Alfonso Marin, soprano-lute duo.
²John MacArthur, Copyright 1978, Grace to You. All rights reserved. Used by permission. This Grace to You sermon, “The King Fulfills Prophecy, Part 2,” originally appeared here.

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