Well that time of year has come round again and I fancy singing the BMW song. Didn't quite have the stamina to read all of the above but I note 1) that people have trouble fitting the words to the tune and 2) some people are not impressed by the poem either. I have to agree, I don't like all that theology in the middle, though the first and last verses have some merit. So in the spirit of the tradition I would like to offer my rewrite- it has a new middle verse and you can sing it to the tune!


IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
(Christina Rossetti)

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water hard as stone;
Snow on snow had fallen,
Snow on snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter,
Many years ago.

In a distant country,
In a cattle shed,
Ox and ass to tend him,
Straw to make his bed.
Milk and bread to feed him,
Hay to keep him warm.
In a land of strangers,
Shelter from the storm.

Just what can I give him,
Poor man that I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would give a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give him?
I will give my heart.