How Far To Bethlehem? – from The Gifts of Midwinter Christmas album by Ken and Lisa Theriot, was a poem written in 1917 by Frances Chesterton, wife of author G.K Chesterton. She wrote it on a Christmas card to family and friends that year. Actually, the original title was How Far Is It To Bethlehem? and is usually sung to a traditional tune known as Stowey. But the version from The Gifts of Midwinter is a completely different, and really beautiful tune.
Lisa writes this in the liner notes: …this is the tune I was taught. I have combed books and the web looking for the provenance of this lovely minor melody to no avail. If you know it, please tell me!
In any case, you can hear the Ken and Lisa Theriot version of the song below:
Get it on iTunes here:
Or if you want the physical CD, you can get that here: