Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella

Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a torch, come swiftly and run.
Christ is born, tell the folk of the village,
Jesus is sleeping in His cradle,
Ah, ah, beautiful is the mother,
Ah, ah, beautiful is her Son.

Hasten now, good folk of the village,
Hasten now, the Christ Child to see.
You will find Him asleep in a manger,
Quietly come and whisper softly,
Hush, hush, peacefully now He slumbers,
Hush, hush, peacefully now He sleeps.

Author: Unknown

Year: 1550

This is a traditional 16th-century French carol ("Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle"). The author of the lyrics is unknown; it first appeared in print in the 1550s in collections such as those associated with the Provençal region. The English translation is most commonly attributed to Edward Cuthbert Nunn (1905), but the original French text is the basis of the hymn.