Do You Hear What I Hear?

My dear friend and crack blogger Amy has been blogging about the meaning of Christmas songs in her "25 Days of Advent" series this month. She asked me to contribute a post on the song of my choice, and this was my (much belated) entry.

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Do you hear what I hear?

One of my earliest memories is of me sitting on a tall stool in the choir room of our church in Tampa, legs dangling high above the floor.  I was probably about 3 years old, and the choir director was trying to coax me into singing “Do You Hear What I Hear?” as a solo in our church Christmas pageant that year.  I don’t think she ever succeeded in convincing me to do it (evidently, I was not too keen on singing in front of others even then), but love for this song abides in me to this day. 

One of the more modern Christmas carols, DYHWIH was written by a married couple named Noel and Gloria (perfect Christmas song-writing names!) in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  The imminent threat of nuclear war during this time is said to have directly inspired the line “Pray for peace, people everywhere”.  Both songwriters have stated that initially, neither of them could perform DYHWIH all the way through without crying. 

The song was made famous by Bing Crosby the following year when it was aired on a Bob Hope Christmas special, and has been covered by various artists ever since.  With subtle mid-Eastern influences in the chord progression and orchestration, along with striking major/minor contrasts throughout, the music itself has a captivating quality rare among Christmas songs.  And the lyrics do more than justice to the great music! Each little verse is a jewel of a poem about this holy night, yet the narrative is so simple a child can understand it:

Said the night wind to the little lamb,

“Do you see what I see?

Way up in the sky, little lamb,

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?

Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,

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?

In your palace warm, mighty king,

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!

Pray for peace, people everywhere,

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!”

Verse 1. I love that the rest of God’s creation might have participated in the spreading of the good news.  That the wind blew differently.  That even the sheep over which the shepherds were abiding may have sensed something was different.  That a star with a tail as big as a kite shone from outer space as a symbol of a promise realized.  And that the star was dancing! It ties in beautifully with what David says in Psalm 96 (verses 11-13, NLT) about how the Earth will rejoice in Christ’s second coming:

“Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!

Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise!

Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!

Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord, for He is coming!”

All of creation must have been ringing with jubilation that night!

Verse 2. I love the description of the angels’ song as “ringing through the sky”.  Like a bell that cannot be dampened, the news of the birth of God’s Son pealed forth from heavenly messengers.  Their song was “as big as the sea”, covering the earth and soaking its inhabitants in the flood of the holy message.

Verse 3. Our Savior was not born into the warm palace he deserved, but instead “shivered in the cold”. He took one of the humblest forms we can imagine- the frail flesh of a newborn baby, a being utterly dependent on others for its very survival. And yet, strangely, it makes sense. Jesus entered into this world the same way every person since Adam and Eve had entered it, giving him a broad spectrum of human experiences- God with us, but in a form that was also 100% human.

Verse 4. “He will bring us goodness and light”- what a lovely thought! The miracle of Christmas brings goodness and light in abundance! The promises of the advent candles we light (peace, hope, joy, love) became flesh in that little baby. God’s plan was finally put into motion, signifying a true end of the power of evil in the world.  This baby, Jesus Christ, will forever deliver us from the darkness we deserve, and bring us light. Amen!