The Moon Shines Bright

In the days before alarm clocks, the task of waking folks up in English towns fell to "waits"; musicians who walked the streets at night with basic wind instruments, keeping watch for fires and criminal activity, and then tooting away at dawn to rouse the populace. It must have been a reasonably fun job in medieval times, fighting crime armed only with a cor anglais and then finishing your shift with an impromptu hoe-down, but admittedly, it's not a system that would flourish on the estate these days.

Nevertheless, the carol most associated with these nocturnal watchmen - The Moon Shines Bright - persists to modern times, and is a great one to listen to as another winter night descends.


O the moon shines bright and the stars give a light
A little before the day.
Our Lord, our god, he looked on us
And he bid us awake and pray.

Awake, awake, good people all
Awake, and you shall hear:
Our Lord, our god, died upon the cross
For us he loved so dear.

And for the saving of our souls
Christ died upon the cross
We ne'er shall do for Jesus Christ
What he has done for us

For the life of a man, it is but a span,
And cut down in its flower
He is here today, tomorrow gone
The creature of an hour

My song is done and I must be gone
I can stay no longer here
God bless you all, both great and small
And send you a joyful new year