THE KINGS OF THE EAST ARE RIDING
"The star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young Child was." Matthew 2:9
Words: Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929).
Music: "Wallace (Hamilton)," Clarence G. Hamilton (1865-1935).
The kings of the east are riding
Tonight to Bethlehem;
The sunset glows dividing,
The kings of the east are riding,
A star their journey guiding,
Gleaming with gold and gem.
The kings of the east are riding
Tonight to Bethlehem.
To a strange sweet song of Zion
The starry host troops forth:
The golden glaived Orion
To a strange sweet song of Zion,
The Archer and and the Lion,
The watchers of the north:
To a strange sweet song of Zion
The starry host troops forth.
There beams above a manger
The child face of a star;
Amid the stars a stranger,
It beams above a manger,
What means this ether ranger
To pause where poor folk are?
There beams above a manger
The child face of a star.