Once In Royal David's City
George Beverly Shea Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Once in royal David's city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

And some day our eyes shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above,




And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics presented in the song "Once in Royal David's City" by George Beverly Shea reflects the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The first stanza describes the humble surroundings of the birth of Jesus, contrasting the mighty and powerful king David's city, where he was born in a cattle shed, and laid on a manger for his bed. The song refers to Mary as a mild mother, who nurtured her child. The use of the word "mild" portrays the humility and gentleness of Mary's character.


Furthermore, the second stanza of the song is a celebration of redemption as it states that someday in the future, Christians will see Jesus through Love's redeeming power. The child born in the animal stable is Jesus Christ, and because of his redeeming love, He is always with us, and He leads the people of the earth towards the place where He has gone to reign - heaven.


Overall, the song is a magnificent portrayal of the birth of Christ and gives hope to believers that Jesus will lead them to the promised land, which is heaven. The power of God's love and redemption are also expressed in the lyrics, making the song a Christmas classic that inspires faith and joy in the hearts of its listeners.


Line by Line Meaning

Once in royal David's city,
In the past, in a kingly city that belonged to David, there was a significant event.


Stood a lowly cattle shed,
In that city, there was a simple shelter for animals.


Where a mother laid her baby
In that animal shelter, a woman placed her newborn child.


In a manger for His bed:
The newborn baby, named Jesus, was placed in the feeding trough of animals to use as a bed.


Mary was that mother mild,
The woman who gave birth to Jesus, and placed Him in the manger, was a gentle woman named Mary.


Jesus Christ her little child.
The baby that Mary gave birth to was the religious figure known as Jesus Christ.


And some day our eyes shall see Him,
In the future, we will see Jesus with our own eyes.


Through His own redeeming love;
We will see Jesus because of His love and the salvation he offers.


For that child so dear and gentle,
Jesus, the child from the previous verses, is gentle and loved by many.


Is our Lord in heaven above,
Jesus is the one and only supreme being in heaven.


And He leads His children on,
Jesus leads his followers on a specific path to reach him in heaven.


To the place where He is gone.
This specific path leads to the place where Jesus currently resides in heaven.




Contributed by Leah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Jason conklin


on The Old Fashioned Home

When God said beond measure THE LORD GAVE BEVERLY SHEA A BLESSED LIFE AS A SAVED MAN 103 YEARS !

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