Carols adapted by Karen Deal Robinson

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	Joy to the World 

Joy to the world, the new year's come. 
Now earth prepares for spring. 
Let every hearth with firelight bloom, 
And heaven and nature sing, 
And heaven and nature sing, 
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing. 

Joy to the earth, now gladness reigns, 
And birds their songs employ, 
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains 
Repeat the sounding joy, 
Repeat the sounding joy, 
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. 

No more will cold and darkness grow, 
Though frost still coats the ground. 
We wait to hear the rivers flow 
As far as hope is found, 
As far as hope is found, 
As far, as far as hope is found. 

She heals the earth with truth and grace, 
And asks us all to prove 
The glories of Her righteousness 
And wonders of Her love, 
And wonders of Her love, 
And wonders, and wonders of Her love. 

	adapted by Karen Deal Robinson

	Long Moon Night
	(tune: Angels We Have Heard on High)

Coyotes we have heard this night
Singing to the silver moon,
Voices raised to praise the light,
Caroling a Yuletide tune.

Oooh, Ooooh, Oooh, Ooooh,
Long Moon Night we greet you,
Oooh, Ooooh, Oooh, Ooooh,
Solstice night we greet you too.

Wild geese fly through silver fire,
While the lake beyond them gleams,
Graceful as an angel choir,
Wings reflecting golden beams.

Ahhh, Ahhhh, Ahhh, Ahhhh,
Long Moon Night we greet you,
Ahhh, Ahhhh, Ahhh, Ahhhh,
Solstice night we greet you too.

Ice coats every blade of grass,
You and I together stand
On a shore of shining glass,
Watching, wondering, hand in hand.

Ohhh, Ohhhh, Ohhh, Ohhhh,
Long Moon Night we greet you,
Ohhh, Ohhhh, Ohhh, Ohhhh,
Solstice night we greet you too.

	Karen Deal Robinson

Note:  Long Moon Night is the full moon closest
to the winter solstice.  On that night the full
moon is in the sky longer than any other night.
The year I wrote this song, the full moon was on
solstice night.

	May Ye Be Merry, Gentlefolk 
	(tune: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) 

May ye be merry, gentlefolk, 
Let nothing you dismay. 
Although the nights are cold and dark 
This is the shortest day. 
And soon the days will grow again 
As springtime comes our way. 
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, 
Comfort and joy. 
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. 

The midnight moon rides high and clear 
On this the longest night, 
And in the frosty darkness 
The stars are burning bright, 
And though the sun is buried deep 
The sky is filled with light. 
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy, 
Comfort and joy. 
Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. 

	adapted by Karen Deal Robinson

	Silent Night  

Silent night, holy night, 
All is calm, all is bright. 
Starlight gleams upon the snow. 
In our hands the candles glow, 
As we sing of peace. 
As we sing of peace. 

Silent night, holy night, 
We will share love's pure light. 
Radiant beams from every face 
Tell our dreams for every place. 
Hope again is born, 
Hope again is born.

	adapted by Karen Deal Robinson	

	The Holly and the Ivy

Oh the holly and the ivy, 
Now they are both full grown, 
Of all the trees that are in the wood 
The holly bears the crown. 

Chorus: 
Oh the rising of the sun, 
The running of the deer. 
All merry folk arise and sing 
To greet the dawning year. 

Oh the holly bears a berry 
As red as any blood, 
And the ivy grows beneath the snows 
That blanket all the wood. 

Chorus 

Oh the holly bears a blossom 
As white as any flower, 
And the ivy turns the winter wood 
To a green and leafy bower. 

Chorus 

Oh the holly bears a bark 
Bitter as any gall, 
And the ivy leaves are shaped like stars 
In the skies above us all. 

Chorus 

Oh the holly bears a prickle 
As sharp as any thorn, 
And the ivy climbs on hills and towers 
To greet the Yuletide morn. 

Chorus     

	adapted by Karen Deal Robinson

In the Bleak Midwinter (by my sister, Laura Deal Raeder)

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind makes moan.
Earth stands hard as iron, water like a stone.
Snow has fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow.
In the bleak midwinter, it is ever so.

Darkness now surrounds us as the nights grow long,
Yet we fill the night time with our hopeful song.
Winter’s cold won’t reach us here, where we light our fire,
As we burn the old year on its funeral pyre.

Now the new year beckons, even in this night.
Soon the days will lengthen, and our hearts grow light.
Hope will grow within us as we look ahead,
And we see that spring wakes out of winter’s bed.

Light will follow darkness, as the earth turns round,
Sunlight follows moonlight, thawing frozen ground.
So our lives renew with every dawning day,
And with every new year, blue skies follow gray.

first verse by Christina Rosetti, slightly altered
Additional verses by Laura Deal Raeder


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	Sancta Lucia (singable translation)


Note: this is a traditional Swedish song.  You can see the original words 
here. I wrote a translation that could be sung.  Lucia is a Christian saint, but 
I expect she is the echo of something much older.  The word "Lucia" means "light."
Night walks with heavy tread
Round hearth and meadow.
From earth the sun has fled,
Woods are in shadow.
Dark is our house tonight;
She comes with candlelight:
Sancta Lucia, Sancta Lucia.

Whispering through the gloom
Night is a-winging
In every silent room,
Murmuring, singing.
See, on our threshold there,
White-clad, lights in her hair:
Sancta Lucia, Sancta Lucia.

Darkness will soon be gone
From vale and hollow.
Sweetly she speaks of dawn;
Gladly we follow.
Day will again arise
New-born on rosy skies.
Sancta Lucia, Sancta Lucia.

	translation by Karen Deal Robinson


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copyright 2002 by Karen Deal Robinson