1. Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed.

Dormi, Jesu, mater ridet,
Quae tam dulcem somnum videt,
Dormi, Jesu, blandule.
[Sleep, Jesus, your mother smiles
Who sees such a sweet sleep,
Sleep, Jesus, charming little one.]

2. He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall.

Si non dormis mater plorat,
Inter fila cantans orat:
Blande veni somnule.
[If you do not sleep, your mother cries,
And, singing, prays as she weaves:
“Come, pleasant little sleep.”]

English: Cecil F. Alexander (1848)
Latin: Anon. 13th century