What Child Is This?

This page includes a lyric video, a brief history, sheet music, and other resources for the Christmas carol “What Child Is This?” Enjoy!

Enjoy this You Tube video with lyrics of “What Child Is This?”:

History of “What Child Is This?”:

William Chatterton Dix was born in Bristol, England. His father John Ross Dix (1800-1865) was a reputable surgeon, as well as a prolific writer. Dix’s father mainly published short biographies of notable people in literature, ministry and politics; one book focused exclusively on his favorite English poet, “The Life of Thomas Chatterton” (1851). It was in honor of this poet that William Dix received his middle name.

Like his father, Dix grew to love literature. Though his education at the Bristol Grammar School (comparable to a K-12 school in the U.S.) was designed to prepare him for a commercial career, the school offered a well-rounded education, and Dix was trained in the liberal arts. Despite his interest in literature, Dix proved to be ambitious, and after completing his education, he took a position managing a marine insurance company in Glasgow, Scotland. However, soon thereafter, he became seriously ill and was confined to bed for an extended period of time. This was a devastating blow to an energetic man in his early 20s, and Dix fell into a deep depression. It was in his sorrow that he met God in a new and intimate way, and the heart of a poet was more fully formed in him.

Dix began to write verses during his illness, and one of the songs he penned at this time was “As With Gladness Men of Old” (1860); it is still sung during the Christmas season. Once Dix recovered from his illness, he returned to work and remained there for many years to come. But he continued to write, and over the course of his life, he produced more than 40 beautiful hymns. Of all his fine work, the song “What Child Is This?” has proven to be the most enduring, at least in America; it is rarely sung anymore in Dix’s native England.

The tune “Greensleeves” was first registered in England in the year 1580 as a ballad entitled “A New Northerne Dittye of the Lady Greensleeves.” There is evidence to suggest that when the song was registered, the tune (as well as different variations of the words) had already attained popularity in England. It appears that the song existed during the life of Henry VIII (1491-1547), and there are even claims that Henry composed it. The attribution is unlikely, however, and may stem from confusion with “Green Grow’th the Holly,” a song that Henry may in fact have authored. It is not clear who joined Dix’s lyrics with the tune Greensleeves. It may have been John Stainer whose arrangement in Christmas Carols Old and New (1871) popularized the song.

For more intriguing history on “What Child Is This?” (and 19 other classic Christmas songs), you can purchase our Christmas Songs eBook (only $2.99; use code “celebrate20” for 20% off).

You can also download our free, complimentary Sheet Music for “What Child Is This?”

For additional resources (like original sheet music), visit Hymns and Carols of Christmas or Net Hymnal.

This page was created by:

Back to main Christmas Songs page or our 25 Days of Christmas Music page.

We welcome your ideas! If you have suggestions on how to improve this page, please contact us.

Information on this page was drawn from our featured Christmas book.

You may freely use this content if you cite the source and/or link back to this page.