What Child Is This?

The carol opens with a question posed over a sleeping infant — a child resting on Mary's lap while angels offer anthems and shepherds keep their watch. That quiet nativity scene gives way to a repeated declaration: this is Christ the Lord. The second stanza moves from manger to throne room, calling for incense, gold, and myrrh and inviting both peasant and king to claim Him, since the King of kings brings salvation and loving hearts are asked to enthrone Him. The final verse lifts the song higher still, with the Virgin singing a lullaby and joy breaking out because Christ is born, the Babe, the Son of Mary. Tommee Profitt's setting keeps the traditional text largely intact, letting the refrain carry the weight — the same four words answered again and again, as if the only fitting response to the question is to say it out loud. The movement from wondering to worship is the whole arc here: a lullaby that becomes a coronation, a child in arms who is also the King of kings. It ends where it began, with the baby, but now the listener knows who He is.