If On a Winter's Night... is a studio album from British musician Sting. It was released on 27 October 2009 in the United States and 2 November 2009 in the United Kingdom. The album was released in several formats: vinyl LP, a single-disc CD, a limited edition CD & making-of DVD entitled "The Genesis of 'If On a Winter's Night...' in six chapters" in Hardback Book packaging, an Amazon.com exclusive version, as well as various import editions (of note is the Japanese edition). The limited edition and Amazon exclusive both include bonus songs; the Japanese edition include them as well but adds "The Coventry Carol."

The title of the album is based on the novel If on a winter's night a traveler

If on a winter's night a traveler

If on a winter's night a traveler is a 1979 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. The narrative is about a reader trying to read a book called If on a winter's night a traveler. Every odd-numbered chapter is in the second person, and tells the reader what he is doing in preparation for...

by Italo Calvino

Italo Calvino

Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...

.

Track listing

1. "Gabriel's Message
   Gabriel's Message
   "Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" is a Basque Christmas folk carol about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God...
   
   " (2:34)
2. "Soul Cake" (3:29)
3. "There is No Rose of Such Virtue" (4:04)
4. "The Snow It Melts the Soonest" (3:44)
5. "Christmas at Sea" (4:38)
6. "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
   Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
   "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" , most commonly translated to English as "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" or "A Spotless Rose", is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin.-History:...
   
   " (2:42)
7. "Cold Song" (3:16)
8. "The Burning Babe" (2:45)
9. "Now Winter Comes Slowly" (3:06)
10. "The Hounds of Winter" (5:51)
11. "Balulalow" (3:10)
12. "Cherry Tree Carol
    The Cherry-Tree Carol
    "The Cherry-Tree Carol" is a ballad with the rare distinction of being both a Christmas carol and one of the Child Ballads . The song itself is very old, reportedly being sung, in some form, at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th century...
    
    " (3:12)
13. "Lullaby for an Anxious Child" (2:50)
14. "The Hurdy-Gurdy
    Hurdy gurdy
    The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
    
     Man" (2:51)
15. "You Only Cross My Mind in Winter" (2:36)
16. "Bethlehem Down
    Bethlehem Down
    Bethlehem Down is a choral anthem or carol composed in 1927 by Anglo-Welsh composer Peter Warlock and set to a poem written by journalist and poet Bruce Blunt . It is a popular anthem used in the Anglican church during the liturgical seasons of Christmastide and Epiphany...
    
    " [Bonus track available on limited/deluxe editions, & iTunes] (2:56)
17. "Blake's
    William Blake
    William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
    
     Cradle Song" [Bonus track available on limited/deluxe editions] (3:32)
18. "The Coventry Carol
    Coventry Carol
    The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew...
    
    " [Bonus track available on Japanese release] (2:33)

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position	Certification status
U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	6	Gold
Finnish Albums Chart	24
German Albums Chart	6
Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of...	11
Hungarian Albums Chart	8	Platinum
Italian Albums Chart	4	2X Platinum
Polish Albums Chart	1	4x Platinum
UK Albums Chart	15
Chart (2010)	Peak position	Certification status
Finnish Albums Chart	7
Polish Albums Chart	2	4x Platinum

Year-end charts

Chart (2009)	Rank
Polish Albums Chart Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies...	2
Chart (2010)	Rank
German Albums Chart	93
US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	90