Jake Thackray Remember Bethlehem
It was ever so cold.
She was far away from home.
She was not very old.
She was only a shabby little country girl.
So long ago.
It seems so far away; so far away.
But even so
I know your nightingales remember her still.
Your pussy-willow and your daffodil,
Even your stony old hills
Remember Bethlehem.
She was awfully weak
For the journey'd been hard.
She had nowhere to sleep;
She lay down in a small dark farmyard.
So long ago.
It seems so far away; so far away.
But even so
I know your lowly hedgehog knows what it means.
Fish that twitch in your greeny streams,
Even your shaggy old trees
Remember Bethlehem.
When she lay herself down
She must’ve been afraid.
There was only the ground;
She had her baby in a painful darkness.
So long ago.
It seems so far away; so far away.
But even so
I know the rain was there when her time had come.
The wind won’t forget what the girl has done.
Even the sulky old sun
Remembers Bethlehem.
When she looked at the child
The very first time
I suppose that she smiled,
And it's my guess that Mary cried a little.
So long ago.
It seems so far away, so far away.
But even so
I've got the flesh and the blood to remember them by:
Him in my mind, and her in my eye;
Every reason why I
Remember Bethlehem.
Bethlehem.
1971 "Live Performance" LP version, also on the "JT
Project" CD
It was ever so cold.
She was far away from home.
She was not very old.
She was only a shabby little country girl.
So long ago.
It seems so far away, so far away.
But even so
I know your nightingale remembers her still.
Your pussy-willow and your daffodil,
Even the stony old hills
Remember Bethlehem.
She was awfully weak
For the journey'd been hard.
She had nowhere to sleep;
She lay down in a small dark farmyard.
So long ago.
It seems so far away, so far away.
But even so
I know your lowly hedgehog remembers her still.
Your pussy-willow and your daffodil.
Even the stony old hills
Remember Bethlehem.
When she looked at the child
For the very first time
I suppose that she smiled,
And it's my guess that Mary cried a little.
So long ago.
It seems so far away, so far away.
But even so
I've got the flesh and the blood to remember them by:
Him in my mind and her in my eye,
And every reason why I
Remember Bethlehem.
Bethlehem. Bethlehem.