Jazz setting - see pdf file A babe was born, a little one, in the dark'ning time of the year. What wondrous work was there begun, in the dark'ning time of the year? The mother nursed a hungry child, in the dark'ning time of the year, sought shelter from the wind and wild, in the dark'ning time of the year. The shepherds heard the angels sing, in the dark'ning time of the year. They ran to see the infant king, in the dark'ning time of the year. The wise men saw a distant star, in the dark'ning time of the year, and bearing gifts, they traveled far, in the dark'ning time of the year. The dawn came gray that winter day, in the dark'ning time of the year; but love was born that sunless morn, in the dark'ning time of the year!