Lyrics Page
Coventry Carol
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Oct 21, 2026 updated
A Pentatonix Christmas album
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
A lullaby sung in the shadow of a massacre, "Coventry Carol" has no angels or shepherds, and that is its point. It begins with the soothing refrain "Lully, lullay, thou little tiny child, by, by, lully, lullay," then the second voice asks, "O sisters, too, how may we do, for to preserve this day this poor youngling for whom we sing?"
The danger is named in the next verse: "Herod the King, in his raging, charged he hath this day his men of might, in his own sight, all children young, to slay." That is the event in Matthew 2:16, when Herod orders the killing of the boys in Bethlehem. The final lines give the mothers' grief, "then woe is me, poor Child, for thee, and ever morn and day for thy parting, nor say nor sing."
The wailing in Matthew 2:18, which quotes Jeremiah 31:15, is the nearest scripture. Pentatonix keeps all three verses of the carol and the lullay refrain after each, so the song never leaves the cradle and the sorrow stays plain. The lyric offers no resolution of its own.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child
By, by, lully, lullay
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child
By, by, lully, lullay
O sisters, too, how may we do
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we sing
By, by, lully, lullay
Herod the King, in his raging
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight
All children young, to slay
Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee
And ever morn and day
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing
By, by, lully, lullay