Unlikely Carols: Bruce Cockburn’s Cry Of A Tiny Baby
So maybe I shouldn’t describe this Christmas carol as “unlikely” in that Bruce Cockburn has explored the Christian story and theology, along with issues of human rights, throughout his forty-year career. But it may very well be unfamiliar to you. If so, you’re in for a treat, as the Canadian folk and rock guitarist, singer-songwriter’s beautiful retelling of the Christmas story blends elements of both Luke’s tender narrative of the in-breaking good news of God to the least likely of recipients – a teenage girl, her confused fiancee, down-and-out shepherds – with Matthew’s starkly realistic picture of a baby that threatens kings by his mere existence.
I’ll put the words below, followed by a slide-show version of a live performance of the song by Cockburn along with Lou Reed and Roseanne Cash. I haven’t been able to find a video of the live version, but if you know of one let me know in the comments. Thanks, and blessed Advent.
Cry of a Tiny Baby
Mary grows a child without the help of a man
Joseph get upset because he doesn’t understand
Angel comes to Joseph in a powerful dream
Says “God did this and you’re part of his scheme”
Joseph comes to Mary with his hat in his hand
Says “forgive me I thought you’d been with some other man”
She says “what if I had been – but I wasn’t anyway and guess what
I felt the baby kick today”
Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe
The child is born in the fullness of time
Three wise astrologers take note of the signs
Come to pay their respects to the fragile little king
Get pretty close to wrecking everything
‘Cause the governing body of the whole [Holy] land
Is that of Herod, a paranoid man
Who when he hears there’s a baby born King of the Jews
Sends death squads to kill all male children under two
But that same bright angel warns the parents in a dream
And they head out for the border and get away clean
Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe
There are others who know about this miracle birth
The humblest of people catch a glimpse of their worth
For it isn’t to the palace that the Christ child comes
But to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums
And the message is clear if you’ve got [you have] ears to hear
That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear
It’s a Christmas gift [that] you don’t have to buy
There’s a future shining in a baby’s eyes
Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe
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Thanks for lifting this up and sharing it, David. In some ways, I see it as an “anti-carol”, if most carols do in fact drift toward the saccharine, no matter how well intended they may start out. This one goes well toward giving the Matthew account its own due, letting it stand as a quite different tale than the sometimes overly sweet and “magical” Lukan take. This song goes along toward letting the story be gritty and revolutionary and tragic and fumbling in a way that is grounded, earthy and closer to reality. Thanks again for the gift.
How wonderful to hear Rosanne Cash and Loud Reed mixed in as well. Bruce Cockburn has such a rich history of bringing the Good News back to us as if for the first time. “Forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear.” And take the song all the way to the end to hear the small applause from a small show, and the humble gratitude. Yep, good stuff.
A wonderful version of this that I was not aware of of! I often end up enjoying the live version of BC’s songs more than the studio version, which is not usually the case for me with other artists. 🙂
Since 1991, one of my favourite songs. Music has always been a huge part of my family’s Christmas celebrations. Everything from Jingle Bells to God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen to O Holy Night plays throughout the house each Christmas season. Cry of a Tiny Babe was added to the mix in 1991 as were all of Bruce’s “Christmas” songs in 1993. Followed by the Barenaked Ladies, Diana Krall, Johnny Reid and Michael Bublé.
As others have said, the appeal of Cry of a Tiny Babe is that it encapsulates the entire Christmas story and, in the 3rd verse, provides a concise statement of Christian theology while, at the same time, humanizing and modernizing the events and the people in the story. The imagery is so profound because it is so recognizable:
An unwed teenage mother reacting to her fiancé’s accusations: “what if I had been? – but I wasn’t anyway and, guess what?,
I felt the baby kick today”;
Well meaning “astrologers”, rather than kings, who “Get pretty close to wrecking everything”;
References to “paranoid” leaders and “death squads” are, unfortunately, about as current as you can get and yet they are entirely historically accurate;
Matthew’s description of the Holy family’s flight to Egypt is lofty and poetic but it was, in fact, as Bruce describes it, a “getaway” and they did “get away clean”; and
Finally, there is no simpler statement of the fact that the message of Jesus is for everyone: “For it isn’t to the palace that the Christ child comes, but to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums”. Neither is there any more accurate summary of what that message is: “That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear”. You can neither earn nor buy forgiveness; all you can do is accept it as a gift, “if you’ve got ears to hear”.
Redemption does, indeed, “rip through the surface of time”.
Merry Christmas to All!
Re: “I haven’t been able to find a video of the live version, but if you know of one let me know in the comments.”
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si8hC1D0uKo
CD version is better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtMs9zztEiY