"Did You Hear the Angel?"

One of my favorite songs to sing as a kid was an old American folk song from the 1800s called "Goin' Down to Cairo". Most of the original lyrics were about working on a river boat and having to leave behind some gal named Liza Jane. Using the same basic tune and song structure (every other line repeats itself), I replaced all of the lyrics to turn it into a Christmas song. (P.S.: What's up with the line spacing here, and how do you fix it?!) © 2018 Lyrics and Arrangement by C.W. Brownell Tune based on the traditional folk song, “Goin’ Down to Cairo” CHORUS: Did you hear the angel? Listen to the good news Did you hear the angel? Your life won’t be the same There is born a Savior Listen to the good news There is born a Savior And Jesus is his name VERSE 1: I was just a shepherd boy Standing in the field I was just a shepherd boy Keeping watch by night Then appeared an angel there And soon it was revealed Then appeared an angel there With news of joy and light (Repeat CHORUS) VERSE 2: “A baby’s born in Bethlehem!” Cried the herald angel “A baby’s born in Bethlehem!” So said the Seraphim “He’ll be wearing swaddlin’ clothes And lyin’ in a manger He’ll be wearing swaddlin’ clothes So you will know it’s him” (Repeat CHORUS) VERSE 3: We arrived so silently And peaked inside the stable We arrived so silently And came in from the cold We approached the manger there And gazed upon the baby We approached the manger--it was Just as we were told (Repeat CHORUS)