Little Baby Jesus

words and music by Doug Howell • © 2021 Creative Measures LLC

little baby Jesus
do you know
all the sorrow, all the woe
all the pain and suffering of this world
this poor world you’re born in

but sleep now
Mother Mary’s love surround you
and keep now
all the burdens lying ‘round you

little baby Jesus
can you hear
all the angels singing clear
singing of a savior strong and kind
shouting alleluias

but sleep now
there will come a time for saving
and keep now
all the souls around you praying
now sleep

little baby Jesus
can you heal
all the cares and hurts we feel
all the dreams that fell and broke apart
all the hopes that left us

but sleep now 
let creation all adore you
and keep now
all the griefs that lie before you
just sleep

little baby Jesus
will you share
she who holds you, pure and fair,
will you spend your love to find the lost
whatever it may cost you

but sleep now
underneath the starlight falling
and keep now
all the joys of heaven calling
now sleep
just sleep

Reviews

BEAUTIFUL… Your voice and your message are wonderful. Thanks for sharing….. —Tammy M. S.

This is beautiful Doug!!!! — Terry T.

Dang! You ambushed me with this one!! The third verse found unbidden tears rolling down my face. Doug, this one is rich, raw, deep, real, powerful and peaceful. Thank you.❤️ I listened while next to the Nativity my dear dad painted in 1952 while hospitalized with tuberculosis…a deep and desperate story. Your Christmas offering has purposeful poignancy. —Carol L. S.

Beautiful! Moving! Thank you, Doug! —Bruce M.

Beautiful, Doug. I love the perspective. WE know, in hindsight, what all would lay ahead…but for that moment, his only job was …to sleep. Perfection in each closing line. —Katie C.

Touching once again, Doug! Thanks! —Wally A.

I love the lyrics and the fatherly protection of the babe destined to wear the weight of the world. The instrumentation is truly wonderful. I love the richness of the accordion that accompanies Doug’s amazing voice. A true Christmas gift… —Marcia L.

Beautiful . May God bless you now and forever. This brought tears to my eyes —Beth R.

Thanks for sharing this. It’s lovely. It has helped calm my frantic mind. How is it that the Incarnation of Our Lord becomes such a source of stress? —Karl O.

This is stunningly beautiful and inspiring, Doug! Thank you! —Bishop Bill G.

Very pretty! Great production/performance as always my friend. —Dan L.

Thanks Doug. I felt a sense of peace and hope as I listened. I have been meditating on the book of Zechariah lately and have felt that God is restoring a sense of peace and rest. This song exemplifies that theme so well. I am so glad that I have reconnected to your music. It is a awakening a past part of my life that was refreshing. Way to go my brother. —Roy R.

This is truly lovely, Doug. Simple and pure. Thank you for asking if I had listened. Now I can say “Yes,” and “Yes.” —Edie H.

Beautifully written and wonderfully performed. Thank [comment cut off] As I was saying… Thank you Lord for Doug’s music ministry, and thank you, Doug for saying yes to that ministry. Merry Christmas to you and to David. —Deacon Tom F.

2021 Notes

I didn’t plan on doing another Christmas song this year, but a few months back I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea. It’s a simple hymn-like carol that, in a way, builds on my 2019 version of “Silent Night.” Just like in that song, I pictured myself at the manger scene, but this time, instead of being mostly an observer, I imagined a sort of conversation with the Christ child. I wondered how much He knew of what his life would be like—and how that life might change our world…

None of us knows exactly what it meant for God to become human, for the Creator to voluntarily put on creaturely flesh, and no one knows how much Jesus knew of his purpose or his future. Even the Gospels reveal different takes on that. Some seem to indicate he knew just about everything, and some that his knowledge was as veiled as ours. And for the things that he did know, was it a sort of spiritual knowing, or a prescient knowledge of every future fact—or something in between?

Whatever the answers to these mysteries may be, it leaves you kneeling in wonder at the miracle of the Nativity. Not just as an observer of a miraculous event; as a partaker, as a participator. We can actually allow the Christ child to be born in us. That’s what began that starry night. That’s what this world needs now. Oh, Lord, may your divine love be born in us this night…

Music Notes

Even though this is a simple hymn-like tune, I used some unusual chord voicings to try and keep things interesting. The piano provides most of the structure, but I’ve added string bass, accordion, flute, and celeste, as well as an angel choir, and (of course) strings.

The image I chose for this song is a very special one for me. It is an icon called “Our Lady of Tenderness,” or sometimes “Sweet Kissing.” I bought it long ago—as I remember, it was at a monastery I was visiting. (I often use it as an example to David that I was into icons long before he came along!) It really grabbed me when I first saw it, and it’s been special to me ever since. When I asked David what he thought I should use for the song image, he immediately suggested using this, and I’m so glad. It’s perfect.