> Folk Music > Songs > Remember O Thou Man

Remember O Thou Man

[ Roud V19071 ; RememberMan at Old Songs ; Thomas Ravenscroft, 1611]

Remember O Thou Man is from Thomas Ravenscroft’s Melismata (1611). William Sandys included it in his book Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: Richard Beckley, 1833).

The York Waits sang Remember, O Thou Man in 1992 on their Saydisc album Old Christmas Return’d.

Richard Thompson sang Remember O Thou Man in 2006 on his live album 1000 Years of Popular Music.

Jon Boden sang Remember O Thou Man as the 15 December 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He and Eliza Carthy sang Remember O Thou Man in 2023 on their Hudson album Glad Christmas Comes. Jon Boden noted:

The opening chapters of Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree give a fantastic window into the experience of the early nineteenth century carol singer, trudging through the snow in the dead of night, annoying sensible people who are tucked up in bed. It is this song that they select as their preferred weapon for waking up a particularly Scrooge-like farmer. I learnt this first from The Oxford Waits.

Lyrics

Remember O Thou Man

Remember, O thou man,
O thou man, O thou man,
Remember O thou man,
    Thy time is spent.
Remember, O thou man,
How thou cams’t to me then,
And I did what I can,
    Therefore repent.

Remember Adam’s fall,
O thou man, O thou man!
Remember Adam’s fall
    From heaven to hell!
Remember Adam’s fall,
How we were condemned all
To hell perpetual,
    There for to dwell.

Remember God’s goodness,
O thou man, O thou man!
Remember God’s goodness,
    And promise made!
Remember God’s goodness,
How His only Son He sent
Our sins for to redress,
    Be not afraid.

The angels all did sing,
O thou man, O thou man!
The angels all did sing,
    On Sion hill
The angels all did sing,
Praises to our glorious King,
And peace to man living,
    With a good will!’

The Shepherds amazed was,
O thou man, O thou man!
The Shepherds amazed was,
    To hear the angels sing.
The Shepherds amazed was
How it should come to pass
That Christ our Messiah
    Should be our King!

To Bethlehem did they go,
O thou man, O thou man!
The shepherds three;
    O thou man, O thou man!
To Bethlehem did they go,
To see whether it were so,
Whether Christ were borne or no
    To set man free.

As the Angels before did say,
O thou man, O thou man!
As the Angels before did say,
    So it came to pass;
As the Angels before did say,
They found him wrapt in hay
In a manger, where he lay
    So poor he was.

In Bethlehem he was born,
O thou man, O thou man!
In Bethlehem he was born,
    For mankind’s sake;
In Bethlehem he was born,
For us that were forlorn,
And therefore took no scorn
    Our sins to bear.

In a manger laid he was,
O thou man, O thou man,
In a manger laid he was
    At this time present.
In a manger laid he was,
Between an ox and an ass,
And all for our trespass,
    Therefore repent.

Give thanks to God always,
O thou man, O thou man!
Give thanks to God always,
    With heart most joyfully
Give thanks to God always,
Upon this blessed day,
Let all men sing and say:
    “Holy, holy!”

Acknowledgements

The lyrics are from A Treasury of Christmas Carols: The Hymns and Carols of Christmas.