Do You Hear What I Hear?

[abcaines]

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

Some history:

Do You Hear What I Hear? - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Since we're deconstructing Christmas songs, I thought this one was a worthy topic.

The above link says this song is loosely based on Matthew's gospel account. Loosely is an understatement. Perhaps the most glaring liberty this song takes is mentioning a king who announces the birth of the "child" as being a good thing... The king in the gospel account is looking to kill the child. To say nothing about the fact that the author of the song totally ignored the fact that the child was the Chosen One, but what part do facts play when trying to craft a heartwarming song?

Also, the shepherd boy in this song is the consummate Democrat as evidenced by his willingness to throw someone else's money at a situation where a child is in poverty.

 

[AverageJoe]

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

Some history:

Do You Hear What I Hear? - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Since we're deconstructing Christmas songs, I thought this one was a worthy topic.

The above link says this song is loosely based on Matthew's gospel account. Loosely is an understatement. Perhaps the most glaring liberty this song takes is mentioning a king who announces the birth of the "child" as being a good thing... The king in the gospel account is looking to kill the child. To say nothing about the fact that the author of the song totally ignored the fact that the child was the Chosen One, but what part do facts play when trying to craft a heartwarming song?

Also, the shepherd boy in this song is the consummate Democrat as evidenced by his willingness to throw someone else's money at a situation where a child is in poverty.

In many hymns and songs for the holidays there are errors in doctrine and other things. Though I like the music to this song, I don't really appreciate the words. I seldom if ever sing them.

 

[Ekklesian]

Also, the shepherd boy in this song is the consummate Democrat as evidenced by his willingness to throw someone else's money at a situation where a child is in poverty.

I hadn't thought of it that way before, but it was the shepherd boy speaking wasn't it.

I guess this means it goes on my list of what I call 'guilt trip' carols, along with Lennon's "So This is Christmas," and the so-called 'Band Aid's' "Do They Know it's Christmas?"

 

[Ekklesian]

And it's not my goal to 'deconstruct' the carols I've been posting about, but to foster an appreciation for them.

That may be a different matter altogether if I say anything about The Little (Pagan) Drummer Boy.

 

[Ransom]

The king in the gospel account is looking to kill the child.

You're assuming the King is Herod, and not one of the three wise men, who did in fact bring him gold. The song takes some poetic licence, but I don't think it's playing as fast and loose with the Gospel as you think.

 

[abcaines]

You're assuming the King is Herod, and not one of the three wise men, who did in fact bring him gold. The song takes some poetic licence, but I don't think it's playing as fast and loose with the Gospel as you think.

I read that take...

Herod is the only king the gospel account mentions; the Magi aren't labeled as kings as far as I am aware in the scriptures; this has been left for speculation among traditional lore, hence, my take on the lyrics.

 

[Ransom]

Herod is the only king the gospel account mentions; the Magi aren't labeled as kings as far as I am aware in the scriptures;

Again, tradiiton and poetic licence. "We three kings of Orient are. / Bearing gifts, we traverse afar," etc.

 

[abcaines]

Again, tradiiton and poetic licence. "We three kings of Orient are. / Bearing gifts, we traverse afar," etc.

Right...

The connection to the Magi as being kings comes from Isaiah 60 and Psalm 72. Which, not as far fetched as many other traditions, the connection is still a bit of a stretch. I find it interesting that in both passages, Sheba is listed as a possible source of these visitors and their gifts but little is made of that idea.

The fact that when the office of king is mentioned in connection with the Magi, it's always in plural from. In fact, Magi is always regarded as plural. The song refers to "the king", singular. The only singular king associated with the Birth, other than Christ Himself, is Herod.

The song was composed not out of a concern for singing of the coming of our salvation, but as a hope for peace in light of the recent Cuban Missile Crisis. Not that that's a terrible thing, but keeping such a glorious coming constrained to a localized idea clouds the true meaning of the event. But then again, why should biblical relevance get in the way of a feel good notion?