Dormi fili, dormi!
"Dormi fili dormi" is from the point of view of Mary singing to the baby Jesus.
Dormi fili, dormi!
Sleep Son, Sleep!
Christmas Carol
Christmas Carol
(Latin)
(English)
Dormi fili, dormi ! mater
Cantat unigenito:
Dormi, puer, dormi ! pater
Nato clamat parvulo:
Millies tibi laudes canimus
Mille, mille, millies.
Dormi, cor, et meus thronus;
Dormi matris jubilum;
Aurum caelestis sonus,
Et suave sibilum!
Millies tibi laudes canimus
Mille, mille, millies.
Ne quid desit, sternam rosis,
Sternam foenum violis,
Pavimentum hyacinthis
Et praesepe liliis,
Millies tibi laudes canimus
Mille, mille, millies.
Si vis musicam, pastores
Convocabo protinus;
Illis nulli sunt priores;
Nemo canit castius.
Millies tibi laudes canimus
Mille, mille, millies.
Sleep son, sleep! Mother
Sings to her only child:
Sleep, boy, sleep! Father at
The birth of the child cries out:
We sing praises unto thee a thousand times
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand times.
Sleep, my heart and my throne;
Sleep mother's jubilation
Who sounds like celestial gold,
sweet whistling!
We sing praises unto thee a thousand times
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand times.
I only need to lay thee on roses,
On a bed of violets,
On a floor of hyacinths
And a manger of lilies,
We sing praises unto thee a thousand times
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand times.
If you want music, I will summon
Shepherds at once;
No one is superior to them;
No one plays so purely.
We sing praises unto thee a thousand times
A thousand, a thousand, a thousand times.
Notes
The following was written about this song in 1881 in Littell's Living Age: "There exists another Latin cradle song, not indeed dating from classical times, but which, like the laconic effusion of the Roman nurse, forms a sort of landmark in the history of poetry. It is composed in the person of the Virgin Mary, and was in bygone days believed to have been actually sung by her. Good authorities pronounce it to be one of the earliest poems extant of the Christian era…"
Thanks and Acknowledgements
English Translation by Lisa Yannucci and Monique Palomares. Many thanks to Jean-Paul Lacombe for helping with the translation into French.
Illustration: Walter Satterlee
