What Child Is This? 2026

by Don Chapman

My new arrangement of What Child Is This gives a slight modern twist to this classic carol.

Two Chorus Formats

Interestingly, What Child Is This has been published in two forms. Both have choruses, but William Chatterton Dix’s original text has different words for each chorus.

Why the change? (My theory, not fact) Probably editors felt the song needed the standard verse/chorus treatment (with the chorus having the same words) like most popular songs, so they simply used the first chorus and repeated it:

This this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste haste to bring Him laud
The Babe the Son of Mary

Doing it this way also repeatedly answers the title’s question by identifying the child as Christ the King.

This is the version I always knew, as it appeared in our church’s Celebration Hymnal, and it’s the version I originally arranged back in 2008.

When I was writing my new melody (This Is Christ the King) it dawned on me that there are other lyrics I never knew (I turned the 3rd chorus into my new bridge.) I really like these “unknown” choruses, especially the second:

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through
The cross be borne for me for you
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe the Son of Mary

The second stanza asks why this child lies in such humble circumstances. Hymnologist C. Michael Hawn explains that its original, 2nd chorus supplies a fuller answer by looking ahead to Christ’s suffering on the cross. Repeating the first chorus removes that explicit connection.

Worship Planning Suggestions:

I’ve applied my new sheet music transposing feature to What Child Is This, but due to its’ wide melodic range I wouldn’t go any lower than a step or two.

Try pairing it with these popular Christmas worship songs:

“Manger Throne” / Phil Wickham

This pairing brings together Christ’s humble birth, his kingship, his death for redemption, and his resurrection, then responds by offering Him our lives and praise. That closely follows the movement of the three choruses. I’d place it after “What Child Is This?”, allowing the congregation to respond to the story they’ve just sung.

“Light of the World (Sing Hallelujah)”/ We The Kingdom

This song explicitly links the child in the manger with the cross, suffering, and salvation. Its invitation to sing hallelujah and adore him also carries forward the joyful praise of the third chorus. Use it after the carol, particularly when you want that reflective moment to grow into a fuller congregational celebration.

“Adore” / Chris Tomlin

A natural response to the third verse and chorus. Both songs move from the gifts brought to Jesus toward the worship we offer him ourselves. “Adore” develops that idea into a personal offering of life and love, making it a particularly fitting closing song after “What Child Is This?” The connection gives the congregation something to do with the carol’s invitation to worship.

A Christmas Prayer for Your Worship Team

My prayer is that this arrangement will help your congregation hear this familiar carol with fresh ears this Christmas. What Child Is This? asks a question every heart has to answer, and Dix gave us the answer in a manger, on a cross, and on a throne. May this season’s services do more than fill the calendar. May they lead your church to kneel, to wonder, and to bring Him laud with everything they have. Merry Christmas, and thank you for the privilege of serving alongside you!

Download What Child Is This?

Get this arrangement of What Child Is This only at Hymncharts.com and Worshiphymns.com – you won’t find this fresh take anywhere else! As the arranger, I’m offering this new version exclusively on these websites. What’s the difference between Hymncharts and Worshiphymns?

Download FREE lead / piano sheet music, chord chart, MP3 demo and lyrics text file. Permission granted to make as many copies as you need for your worship team.