A Man Was The Fyrst Gylt
Words and Music:
Traditional English
Compare:
All That Leve In
Cristen Lay
All That 'Lieve In Christmas Lay
Source: Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols Now First Printed, From a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (London: The Percy Society, 1847), Song #34, printed verbatim from a manuscript probably owned by a professional musician, and apparently written in the latter half of the fifteenth century, circa 1471-1485.
This carol requires the installation of the "Junicode" font for best display. You can obtain a copy of this font from Old English at the University of Virginia, or right click here, and then select "Save File As" to save a copy of the zipped file to your computer. See notes in F A Q.
All that leve in cristen lay,
Worshup every Cristmes day.
A man was the fyrst gylt,
And therfor he was spylt;
The profycy was never spylt,
Thyl on the Cristmes day.
The fyrst day that lely sprong,
Jhesu Crist be us among,
Ever we thowte it was to long,
Thyl on the Cristmes day.
It was dyrk, it was dym,
For men that levyd in gret syn,
Lucyfer was us al within,
Thyl on the Cristmes day.
Ther was wepping, ther was woo,
For every man to hell gan goo.
It was lityl mere thoo,
Thyl on the Cristmes day.
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