Away in a Manger
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"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols; a 1996 Gallup Poll ranked it joint second. Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin.<ref name="hill"/> The two most common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James Ramsey Murray (1887).
WordsEdit
The popularity of the carol has led to many variants in the words, which are discussed in detail below. The following are taken from Kirkpatrick (1895):<ref name="kirkpatrick"/>
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
<poem>Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. I love thee, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky, And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay Close by me forever, and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, And take us to heaven to live with thee there.</poem>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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VariantsEdit
Almost every line in the carol has recorded variants. The most significant include the following:
- Verse 1, line 1: The earliest sources have "no crib for his bed".<ref name="cynosure"/><ref name="little_pilgrim_songs"/><ref name="clark"/> "No crib for a bed" is found in Murray (1887).<ref name="murray"/>
- Verse 1, line 2: The earliest sources have "lay down his sweet head."<ref name="cynosure"/><ref name="little_pilgrim_songs"/> "Laid" is first found in "Little Children's Book" (1885)<ref name="clark"/> – see lie/lay distinction.
- Verse 1, line 2: Some sources, from as early as 1900, have "his wee head" instead of "his sweet head."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Verse 1, line 3: The earliest sources have "[t]he stars in the sky looked down where he lay",<ref name="cynosure"/><ref name="little_pilgrim_songs"/> leading to this line having only ten syllables as opposed to the eleven of the other lines of the verse (unless "looked" is pronounced as two syllables, as is done in some musical settings).<ref name="rowland"/> Herbert (1891) substituted "stars in the heaven",<ref name="herbert"/> and Gabriel (1892) "stars in the heavens" to regularize the meter. Kirkpatrick (1895) may have been the first to use "stars in the bright sky".<ref name="kirkpatrick"/>
- Verse 1, line 4: The earliest sources have "asleep in the hay."<ref name="cynosure"/><ref name="clark"/><ref name="myrtle"/> Murray (1887) changes this to "on the hay."<ref name="murray"/>
- Verse 2, line 1: The earliest sources have "the poor baby wakes".<ref name="cynosure"/><ref name="little_pilgrim_songs"/><ref name="murray"/> "The baby awakes" is found in Herbert (1891).<ref name="herbert"/>
- Verse 2, line 3: Some sources have "look down from on high".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Verse 2, line 4: This line has a multitude of variants:
- "And stay by my crib watching my lullaby" (Christian Cynosure, 1882)<ref name="cynosure"/>
- "And stay by my crib to watch lullaby" (Seamen's Magazine, 1883)<ref name="seamen"/>
- "And stay by my cradle to watch lullaby" (Murray, 1887)<ref name="murray"/>
- "And watch by me always, and ever be nigh" (1890)<ref name="pearson">Template:Cite book</ref>
- "And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh" (Herbert, 1891)<ref name="herbert"/>
- "And watch o'er my bed while in slumber I lie" (1893)<ref name="moderator">Template:Cite journal</ref>
- "And stay by my side until morning is nigh" (1905)<ref name="bonner">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Verse 3 is absent from the earliest publications. It first appears in Gabriel's Vineyard Songs (1892).<ref name="gabriel">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Verse 3, line 4: Instead of "take us to heaven", one popular variant found from 1899 has "fit us for heaven".<ref name="sunday">Template:Cite book</ref>
HistoryEdit
First and second versesEdit
The origin of the words is obscure. An early appearance was on 2 March 1882, in the "Template:Sic Corner" section of the anti-Masonic journal The Christian Cynosure.<ref name="cynosure">Template:Cite journal</ref> Under the heading "Luther's Cradle Song", an anonymous author contributed the first two verses, writing: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
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A near-identical article appeared in the November 1883 issue of The Sailors' Magazine and Seamen's Friend.<ref name="seamen">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Another early version was published in Little Pilgrim Songs, a book of Christian music for young children, whose preface is dated 10 November 1883. Little Pilgrim Songs includes a similar claim that the song was written "by Martin Luther for his own children".<ref name="little_pilgrim_songs">Template:Cite book</ref>
An article in the May 1884 issue of The Myrtle, a periodical of the Universalist Publishing House in Boston,<ref name="myrtle">Template:Cite journal</ref> also included the carol, stating: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
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Third verseEdit
The third stanza, "Be near me, Lord Jesus", is absent from the known early sources. Its first known appearance was in Gabriel's Vineyard Songs (1892), where it was set to a melody by Charles H. Gabriel (simply marked "C").<ref name="hill"/><ref name="gabriel"/> Gabriel credited the entire text to Luther and gave it the title "Cradle Song". Decades later, a story was published attributing the third verse to John T. MacFarland:
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Bishop William F. Anderson has given the story of the writing of the third stanza:
When I was Secretary of the Board of Education, 1904–08, I wanted to use "Away in a manger", which I found with the designation "Martin Luther's Cradle Song", in the Children's Day program one year. It had but two stanzas, 1 and 2. Dr. John T. McFarland, then Secretary of our Board of Sunday Schools, was my near neighbor in his office at 150 Fifth Avenue (New York). I asked him to write a third stanza. He went to his office and within an hour brought me the third stanza beginning, "Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay." I used it, which was the first time it was ever published. I am pleased to see that it is now being used very widely. The honor of it belongs to that great and good man, Dr. John T. McFarland.<ref>Template:Cite book, quoted in Hill.</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Since this story dates the composition of the stanza to 1904–1908, over a decade after its first known appearance, Hill judges that "the 1892 publication [of Gabriel's Vineyard Songs] renders the Bishop's story suspect, and additional evidence must be found before McFarland can be safely credited with the writing of the third stanza."<ref name="hill"/> It has been suggested that Gabriel may have written the third stanza himself and attributed it to Luther.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
PopularityEdit
By Christmas of 1883, "Luther's Cradle Song" was already being performed as a recitation as part of a Sunday School celebration in a church in Nashville.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The early popularity of the hymn may also be reflected in a report (published in 1885, but covering the year 1884) from an American mission in Maharashtra, India, stating:<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
[t]he hymns and cradle songs learned in the school, are often sung at home. One woman said that 'Hush my dear', and 'Mother mine', were heard all day in their alley, and now more lately, Luther's cradle hymn, 'Away in a manger, no cot for his bed', has a place with them and is a favorite.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Spurious attribution to LutherEdit
The great majority of early publications ascribe the words to German Protestant reformer Martin Luther. Many go so far as to title the carol "Luther's Cradle Song" or "Luther's Cradle Hymn", to describe the English words as having been translated from Luther,<ref name="bonner"/> or to speak of its alleged popularity in Germany.<ref>For example, Murray (1887) repeats The Myrtle's title of "Luther's Cradle Hymn" and the claim that it was "[c]omposed by Martin Luther for his children, and still sung by German mothers to their little ones".</ref> The claim of Luther's authorship continued to be made well into the 20th century, but it is now rejected as spurious for the following reasons:<ref name="hill"/>
- No text in Luther's known writings corresponds to the carol.
- No German text for the carol has been found from earlier than 1934, more than 50 years after the first English publication. That German text reads awkwardly, and appears to be a result of a translation from the English original.
- The unadorned narrative style of the carol is atypical of Luther, who, Hill states,<ref name="hill"/> "could never throw off his role of educator and doctrinarian."
- When some earlier 19th-century sources do mention a carol written by Luther for his son Hans, they are referring to a different text: "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her".
Richard Hill, in a comprehensive study of the carol written in 1945, suggested that "Away in a Manger" might have originated in "a little play for children to act or a story about Luther celebrating Christmas with his children", likely connected with the 400th anniversary of the reformer's birth in 1883.<ref name="hill"/>
MusicEdit
"Mueller"Edit
<score sound="1"> \new Staff << \autoBeamOff
\time 3/4 \key f \major \partial 4 \relative c
{
c4 | c4. bes8 a4 | a4. g8 f4 | f4 e4 d4 | c2 c4 |
\break
c4. d8 c4 | c4 g'4 e4 | d4 c4 f4 | a2 c4 |
\break
c4. bes8 a4 | a4. (g8) f4 | f4 e4 d4 | c2 c4 |
\break
bes'4. a8 g4 | a4 g4 f4 | g4 d4 e4 | f2 | \bar "|."
} \addlyrics {
A -- way in a man -- ger, No crib for a bed, The lit -- tle Lord Je -- sus Laid down His sweet head. The stars in the sky Looked down where He lay, The lit -- tle Lord Je -- sus A -- sleep on the hay.
} >> \layout { indent = #0 } \midi { \tempo 4 = 106 } </score> The most popular musical setting in the United States is commonly known as "Mueller".<ref name="hill"/> The melody was first published, under the title "Luther's Cradle Hymn", by James R. Murray in his collection Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses (1887).<ref name="hill"/><ref name="murray">Template:Cite book</ref>
Murray included a claim that the hymn was "[c]omposed by Martin Luther for his children". Hill writes:<ref name="hill"/> <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Wherever he got the ideas expressed in the heading, Mr. Murray made one serious tactical mistake in saying that Luther "composed" the hymn, and then placing only his own initials where the composer's name is normally given. As a consequence, his fellow compilers of song books apparently supposed that all he had done was to arrange the accompaniment.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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As a result of this "tactical mistake", Murray's melody appeared, without credit, in several subsequent publications. By 1914, the melody was attributed to "Carl Mueller",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and this attribution was repeated several times in other publications.<ref name="hill"/> The identity of "Carl Mueller" is unknown, but the tune is widely known as "Mueller" as a result.
"Cradle Song"Edit
<score sound="1"> \new Staff <<
\autoBeamOff
\time 3/4
\key f \major
\partial 4
\relative c'{
c4 |
f4 f4 g8 ([a8]) | f4 f4 a8 ([bes8]) | c4 c4 d4 | bes2 g8 ([a8]) |
\break
bes4 bes4 c4 | a4 a4 f8 ([a8]) g4 d4 f4 | e2 c4 |
\break
f4 f4 g8 ([a8]) | f4 f4 a8 ([bes8]) | c4 c4 d4 | bes2 g8 ([a8]) |
\break
bes4 bes4 c4 | a4 a4 f8 ([a8]) g4 d4 e4 | f2 | \bar "|."
}
\addlyrics { A -- way in a man -- ger,
no crib for a bed, The lit -- tle Lord Je -- sus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, The lit -- tle Lord Je -- sus a -- sleep on the hay.}
>> \layout { indent = #0 } \midi { \tempo 4 = 106 } </score>
The standard melody in Britain, Ireland and Canada is "Cradle Song". The tune, written by the Irish-American composer William J. Kirkpatrick, was first published as part of the collection Around the World with Christmas (1895), a "Christmas Exercise" for schools featuring material representing various countries: "Away in a Manger" was included, under the title "Luther's Cradle Hymn", as a representative of "The German Fatherland".<ref name="kirkpatrick">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Kirkpatrick's melody was later published in numerous hymnbooks, and was the setting that, in Hill's words, "first carried the words beyond the confines of the United States", being included in collections such as Carey Bonner's Sunday School Hymnary (1905).<ref name="hill"/><ref name="bonner"/> It remains the most popular musical setting of "Away in a Manger" outside the United States.
Other musical settingsEdit
In his article "Not So Far Away in a Manger; Forty-One Settings of an American Carol", published in the Music Library Association Notes (second series) III, no. 1, for December 1945,<ref name="hill">Template:Cite journal</ref> Richard Hill treated 41 of the nearly 200 different musical settings of this text.
The first music mentioned in connection with "Away in a Manger" was a pre-existing composition: Home! Sweet Home! (also known as "There's No Place Like Home"). This was suggested as a musical setting in Little Pilgrim Songs (1883) and The Myrtle (1884), and continued to be mentioned as an appropriate melody for decades to come.<ref>E.g.
- Template:Cite journal)
- (Template:Cite book
- (Template:Cite journal)
- (Template:Cite journal)</ref> A musical arrangement was published in the early 1920s.<ref>Template:Cite book; mentioned by Hill</ref>
The first known musical setting specifically published with the words appeared in an Evangelical Lutheran Sunday school collection, Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (1885; preface dated Christmas 1884), where it simply bore the title "Away in a Manger". It was set to a tune called "St. Kilda", credited to J.E. Clark.<ref name="clark">Template:Cite book</ref> The tune, according to Hill, "gives every appearance of being a standard melody used elsewhere for other hymns", but Hill adds that "no information on J. E. Clark or any other printing of his tune, previous or later, has been located."<ref name="hill"/> This publication is also notable for refraining from attributing the carol to Luther.<ref name="hill"/>
The melody by John Bunyan Herbert<ref name="herbert">Template:Cite book, reproduced in Hill</ref> (first published in 1891), is identified by Hill as among the most popular.<ref name="hill"/> Like Murray's, Herbert's setting was often republished without credit to the original composer, with the melody sometimes even being misattributed to Luther himself.<ref name="belle">Template:Cite book</ref>
Charles H. Gabriel, already mentioned as being the first to publish the third verse in 1892, is also notable for having published more different musical arrangements of the hymn than any other known composer.<ref name="hill"/><ref>In detail:
- Template:Cite book (Copyright 1892 by Guide Printing & Pub. Co.)
- Template:Cite book (Copyright 1893 by Chas. H. Gabriel)
- Template:Cite book (Copyright 1896 by Chas. H. Gabriel. E. O. Excell, Owner.) (Melody almost identical to that of 1892, but with a changed time signature and addition of a refrain)
- Template:Cite book (Copyright 1899 by Henry Date)
- Template:Cite book cited in Hill</ref> His 1896 setting, reprinted in many different collections, is based on his 1892 melody but adds a chorus at the end of each verse, with the word "asleep" sung antiphonally.<ref name="hill"/>
Another popular arrangement, found at least as early as 1897,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> sets the words to Jonathan E. Spilman's 1838 melody "Flow Gently, Sweet Afton". Hill, writing in 1941, found Spilman's musical setting to be the second-most published, after Murray's.<ref name="hill"/>
An arrangement dating from 1911 sets the words to an "old Normandy Carol".<ref name="hill"/> This melody was subsequently published in Carols for Choirs, arranged by Reginald Jacques.
An arrangement by Christopher Erskine combines the two most popular tunes for the hymn, from Kirkpatrick and Murray. Erskine's arrangement was first performed in 1996 at the annual pair of joint Carol Services in Manuka, Canberra, sung by the choirs of St Paul's Church (Anglican) and St Christopher's Cathedral (Roman Catholic). In this version, the Kirkpatrick setting is sung by one choir, and the Murray setting by the other choir, alternating through the first two verses. Both settings are sung together for the third verse.Template:Citation needed
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