Once In Royal David's City (Stanza 1)

In Luke's account of Jesus' birth, he tells us that Mary "...gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7, New American Standard Bible, 2015)

From Christmas songs, pageants and legends, we have the image of an innkeeper turning a pregnant woman away from his commercial, roadside inn. Some picture him as grumpy and unaccommodating; some portray him as more sympathetic. Either way, the Bible gives no basis for this fictitious character. Keep in mind that Mary and Joseph had traveled to Bethlehem since it was his hometown. Undoubtedly he still had relatives there and in that culture, it would be unheard of for a family to turn away a relative--especially with a pregnant wife.

"Inn" is better translated as "guest room," albeit a simple one. To keep their few livestock safe, Middle Eastern homes of that time would have a stable as part of the house, but separated from the living quarters by a stone manger built into the floor. The guest room had already been occupied, probably with other relatives who had arrived earlier in Bethlehem for Caesar's census. And so they stayed in the stable, and Mary laid her baby in a solid, hay-lined manger close to the floor.
http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/11/08/The-Manger-and-the-Inn.aspx#Article

Today we'll look at the first stanza of "Once in Royal David's City"
 "Since 1918, this carol has the distinction of being played [every year] as the processional hymn during the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve at King's College, Cambridge...." http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/once_in_royal_davids_city.htm

Look online and you'll find some very moving videos of these Christmas Eve services. As a bass, I cannot duplicate it, but the service begins with a boy soprano singing the first stanza, echoing from the rafters of a cathedral.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zjWOSY_xIw

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.