Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem

  • Using themes of Stuart Heady

Oh, little town of Bethlehem,
Surrounded by guns and tanks,
The children walk amid the threat
Of ever closing ranks.

  • Wise men survey the rubble,
    Remains of Paradise.
    The hopes and fears of all the years
    Are drowned in children’s cries.

Oh, little town of Bait Jala,
A’burning in the night,
The olive trees are seared and black,
And shepherds all take flight.

  • And as the missile thunders,
    The helicopter aims.
    The hopes and fears of all the years
    Are perished in the flames.

Oh, little towns of Palestine,
Cut off by settlers’ roads,
Where poverty’s enforced by guns,
What dire future bodes?

  • Though peace on earth was promised,
    And everlasting light,
    The hopes and fears of all the years
    Are met in thee tonight.