ORIENTIS PARTIBUS

Orientis partibus
adventavit asinus,
pulcher et fortissimus,
Sarcinis aptissimus.
Hez, Sir Asnes, hez!

From the East the donkey came,
Stout and strong as twenty men;
Ears like wings and eyes like flame,
Striding into Bethlehem.
Heh! Sir Ass, oh heh!

Faster than the deer he leapt,
With his burden on his back;
Though all other creatures slept,
Still the ass kept on his track.
Heh! Sir Ass, oh heh!

Still he draws his heavy load,
Fed on barley and rough hay;
Pulling on along the road --
Donkey, pull our sins away!
Heh! Sir Ass, oh heh!

Wrap him now in cloth of gold;
All rejoice who see him pass;
Mirth inhabit young and old
On this feast day of the ass.
Heh! Sir Ass, oh heh!

MIDI sequenced by Mary Tipton
anonymous medieval carol

Tune and words from The Christmas Revels Songbook.
Notice the flatted seventh in the mixolydian mode.
See also The Friendly Beasts for a more modern version of this tune.