The Music Plays On — Coventry Carol

“Representation of a Pageant Vehicle at the time of Performance,” by David Gee (1825)

While some songs have the luck to remain on the charts for a few months, there are songs that have remained in humanity’s consciousness for centuries. Coventry Carol is one of them.

The earliest example of the text of the carol is found in a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, first written down in 1534. The carol refers to the moment in the Christmas story, as told in the…