Inside: Do you hear this carol? The night wind speaking to the little lamb? It’s a fairly modern Christmas song with quite a unique story. Tune in to find out.
Do You Hear This Carol?
When it comes to Christmas carols, I like mine sung loud and strong and by Bing. Who does it better? In 1963 he released the song, “Do You Hear” (“Do You Hear What I Hear?”) to wide popularity. But do you know the story behind the making of a modern Christmas carol?
During the height of the Cuban missile crisis, in October of 1962, the then-married songwriting team of Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker were asked to write a Christmas song but the New York couple were having a difficult time getting into the mood with all of the international tension and fear.
Regney writes: “In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated. En route to my home, I saw two mothers with their babies in strollers. The little angels were looking at each other and smiling. All of a sudden, my mood was extraordinary.” Seeing those two babies, a song began to develop. The babies reminded him of newborn lambs and inspired the opening line: “Said the night wind to the little lamb. . .”
Upon Bing Crosby’s release of the hit, some only saw it as a standard Christmas song. But taking a closer look, the mention of “The Child” and “the star dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite” revealed it was every bit the meaningful Christmas ballad.
Oddly, both Regney and Baker said they preferred Robert Goulet’s version because of the emphasis he placed on “pray for peace people everywhere.” Considering the times, that’s certainly understandable.
But I still prefer Bing.
This day in past posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Spiced Nuts (2017)
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Silent Night’s Story (2018)
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: An Unforgettable Small Town (2019)
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Hearing Christmas Bells (2020)
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