I shared with him that as a little girl in 5th grade, I sang in the choir. They allowed those of us who can't sing to do that back then! Two songs really blessed me. "Do you hear what I hear?" by far has pierced my heart the most through the years. I even used it as a theme for a speaking engagement once.
What most people do not know about this song is that it was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis by a husband and wife duo. Typically, she would write the lyrics and he would write the music. On this one occasion, it was in reverse. He wrote the lyrics and she wrote the music. And as they tell the story in the article below it is almost as if the song came to them both miraculously.
The song has a dual meaning. It reminds us clearly that the birth of Jesus is where we will find goodness and light. But, it is also a call to prayer against war. The author Noel Regney knew the horrors of war fighting in WW2 and he wanted people everywhere to pray for peace.
This song is a call for peace everywhere!
“I am amazed that people can think they know the song and not know it is a prayer for peace, ” Noel Regney once told an interviewer. “But we are so bombarded by sounds and our attention spans are so short. “
Let us hope and pray that, when it is sung in churches worldwide during the Christmas season, this song of peace will remind us that “The Child, The Child sleeping in the night ” came to “bring us goodness and light. “
My favorite rendition is Bing Crosby's which is how the song became so famous.
Here are the lyrics. Read them thinking about how Jesus brings peace and light, but also read them as a plea for those in charge to pray for peace everywhere! Profound indeed!
Do you hear what I hear?
Said the night wind to the little lamb
Do you see what I see?
(Do you see what I see?)
Way up in the sky, little lamb
Do you see what I see?
(Do you see what I see?)
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
(Do you hear what I hear?)
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear?
(Do you hear what I hear?)
A song, a song high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
In your palace warm, mighty king
Do you know what I know? (Do you know what I know?)
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say! (Listen to what I say!)
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
Listen to what I say! (Listen to what I say!)
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Noel Regney / Gloria Shayne
Quotes are taken from:
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