This gentle lullaby is sometimes titled "The Manger Cradle Song" as the lyrics of the refrain take the form of a soothing serenade to the sleeping Christ Child on that first Christmas night. Though still not widely known "Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head" began to gain an audience through performances during the American folk revival of the 1950's and 60's. Choir director Mack Wilberg fashioned his a cappella arrangement of this soothing folk carol especially for The Choir's annual Christmas concert.

"Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head" is an introductory track for O Holy Night: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir, which will be released digitally and physically on Friday, October 28. Enjoy digital release of “Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head” by streaming the music on Spotify and other streaming services. 

When taping the Choir’s 2021 Christmas performances, there was a hush in the Conference Center audience when 360 Choir members silently and quickly shifted position to encircle music director Mack Wilberg in the Conference Center choir loft. and began to sing. What followed was an emotional experience for everyone as the Choir sang so softly and gently an a cappella version of the American folk carol “Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head.”

The music of this reassuring lullaby, sometimes called “The Manger Cradle Song,” evoked to the listeners the tender scene of the Savior’s birth. The music for “Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head” was collected from Hardin County in central Kentucky in the early 20th century but, as with so many other folk carols and hymns, the song’s origins predate by many decades its collection and publication. Though still not widely known today, “Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head” began to gain an audience through solo and choral arrangements during the American folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. Mack Wilberg fashioned his a cappella arrangement of this soothing folk carol especially for the 2021 Christmas concert. The lyrics of this beautiful refrain take the form of a soothing serenade to the sleeping Christ Child on that first Christmas night. A single verse alludes to the disquieting conditions of the Holy Nativity—Mary and Joseph’s late arrival in Bethlehem, with an uncertain fate and (as the lyrics surmise) blowing winds—before concluding with the glorious serenity of the moment.

Jesus, Jesus, rest your head, You have got a manger bed.
All the little ones on Earth Sleep in comfort at their birth.
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head, You have got a manger bed.
Have you heard about our Jesus? Have you heard about His fate?
How His mother went to the stable On that Christmas Eve so late?
Winds were blowing, cows were lowing, Stars were glowing, glowing, glowing.
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head, You have got a manger bed.
All the little ones on Earth Sleep in comfort at their birth.
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head, You have got a manger bed.
Jesus, Jesus, rest your head, You have got a manger bed.