The Three Kings

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * Track #204 On The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Download "The Three Kings"

Album The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

ALBUM

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Three Kings by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Performed by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Three Kings Annotated

Three Kings came riding from far away,
&nbsp Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they,
And they travelled by night and they slept by day,
&nbsp For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

The star was so beautiful, large, and clear,
&nbsp That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere,
And by this they knew that the coming was near
&nbsp Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,
&nbsp Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,
&nbsp Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

And so the Three Kings rode into the West,
&nbsp Through the dusk of night, over hill and dell,
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast
And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,
&nbsp With the people they met at some wayside well.

"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,
&nbsp "Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen his star,
And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,
&nbsp To find and worship the King of the Jews."

And the people answered, "You ask in vain;
&nbsp We know of no king but Herod the Great!"
They thought the Wise Men were men insane,
As they spurred their horses across the plain,
&nbsp Like riders in haste, and who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem,
&nbsp Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,
Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;
And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,
&nbsp And bring me tidings of this new king."

So they rode away; and the star stood still,
&nbsp The only one in the gray of morn
Yes, it stopped, it stood still of its own free will,
Right over Bethlehem on the hill,
&nbsp The city of David where Christ was born.

And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,
&nbsp Through the silent street, till their horses turned
And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;
But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,
&nbsp And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay,
&nbsp In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
&nbsp Of a kingdom not human but divine.

His mother Mary of Nazareth
&nbsp Sat watching beside his place of rest,
Watching the even flow of his breath,
For the joy of life and the terror of death
&nbsp Were mingled together in her breast.

They laid their offerings at his feet:
&nbsp The gold was their tribute to a King,
The frankincense, with its odor sweet,
Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,
&nbsp The myrrh for the body's burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head,
&nbsp And sat as still as a statue of stone;
Her heart was troubled yet comforted,
Remembering what the Angel had said
&nbsp Of an endless reign and of David's throne.

Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
&nbsp With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
&nbsp And returned to their homes by another way.

Your Gateway to High-Quality MP3, FLAC and Lyrics

― DownloadMP3FLAC.com ―

Support: [email protected]