Balulalow | O my deir hert, young Jesus sweit

Translation by The brothers Wedderburn (James, John and Robert) (flourished 1548)

O my deir hert, young Jesus sweit

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Our translations: DUT FRE GER

O my deir hert, young Jesus sweit,
Prepare thy creddil in my spreit,
And I sall rock thee in my hert
And never mair from thee depart.

But I sall praise thee evermoir
With sangis sweit unto thy gloir;
The knees of my heart sall I bow,
And sing that richt Balulalow!

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• R. Beckett • B. Britten • H. Howells • N. Rorem • P. Warlock

About the headline (FAQ)

Note: freely adapted from stanzas 13 and 14 of Martin Luther's text.

Ronald Beckett's setting uses a slightly modernized form of the text as follows:

O my dear heart, young Jesu sweet,
Prepare thy cradle in my spreit,
And I sall rock thee in my heart,
And never mair from thee depart.

But I sall praise thee evermore.
With sangis sweet unto thy gloir;
The knees of my heart sall I bow,
And sing that richt Balulalow.

Text Authorship:

by The brothers Wedderburn (James, John and Robert) (flourished 1548) [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her"
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Ronald A. Beckett , "O my dear heart", 1988, published 2008 [ voice and piano ], in Songs and Arias, Volume 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Michael Berkeley (b. 1948), "Cradle song", 1976 [ SATB chorus and piano or organ ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Michael Berkeley (b. 1948), "Cradle song", 1996 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Balulalow", op. 28 no. 4b (1942) [ solo voice, treble chorus, and harp ], from A Ceremony of Carols, no. 4b [sung text checked 1 time]
by Herbert Norman Howells (1892 - 1983), "O my deir hert", 1922 [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "O my dere hert" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Balulalow", op. 111 (1946) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Balulalow", op. 379 (1953) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Balulalow", op. 431 (1954) [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Balulalow", op. 572 (1960) [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Balulalow", op. 596 (1961) [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "O, My Dere Heart", op. 638 (1963) [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Balulalow", op. 643 (1963) [sung text not yet checked]
by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "A Cradle Song (Balulalow)", op. 662 (1965) [sung text not yet checked]
by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Cradle song", published 1968 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Songs for High Voice, no. 2, Henmar Press [sung text checked 1 time]
by Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "O my deir hert", op. 5, published 1953 [ voice and piano ], revised 1952 [sung text not yet checked]
by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "Balulalow", 1919, published 1923 [ voice, piano, string quartet ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-09
Line count: 8
Word count: 52

New Feature Alert