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'{{italic title}} {{Infobox song | Name = O Little Town of Bethlehem | Cover = Manuscriptolittletownofbethlehem.png | Alt = | Caption = [[Phillips Brooks|Author's]] manuscript of first stanza | Published = {{circa}} 1868 | Composer = [[Lewis Redner]] ("St Louis"), [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] ("Forest Green"), [[Henry Walford Davies]] ("Wengen" and "Christmas Carol") | Lyricist = [[Phillips Brooks]] }} {{wikisource|O Little Town of Bethlehem}} {{listen|filename=Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.ogg|title=O Little Town of Bethlehem (St. Louis version)|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}} "'''O Little Town of Bethlehem'''" is a popular [[Christmas carol]]. ==Words== The text was written by [[Phillips Brooks]] (1835–1893), an [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] priest, rector of the [[Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia]]. He was inspired by visiting the village of [[Bethlehem]] in the [[Sanjak]] of [[Jerusalem Sanjak|Jerusalem]] in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his church and his organist, [[Lewis Redner]], added the music. O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight For Christ is born of Mary And gathered all above While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wondering love O morning stars together Proclaim the holy birth And praises sing to God the King And Peace to men on earth How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven No ear may hear His coming But in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still The dear Christ enters in O holy Child of Bethlehem Descend to us, we pray Cast out our sin and enter in Be born to us today We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell O come to us, abide with us Our Lord Emmanuel O come to us, abide with us Our Lord Emmanuel ==Music== [[File:St Louis (Redner).png|thumb|"St Louis" by Lewis Redner (from an 1896 hymnal)]] Redner's tune, simply titled "St. Louis", is the tune used most often for this carol in the United States.<ref name=benson>Louis F. Benson, "[http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/o_little_town_of_bethlehem.htm O Little Town of Bethlehem]". ''Studies Of Familiar Hymns'', First Series (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1924), 11</ref> Redner recounted the story of his composition in 1924:<ref name=benson/> {{quote|As Christmas of 1868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas Sunday-school service, and he asked me to write the tune to it. The simple music was written in great haste and under great pressure. We were to practice it on the following Sunday. Mr. Brooks came to me on Friday, and said, ‘Redner, have you ground out that music yet to "O Little Town of Bethlehem"? I replied, 'No,' but that he should have it by Sunday. On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused from sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor I ever thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond that Christmas of 1868.<br /> My recollection is that Richard McCauley, who then had a bookstore on Chestnut Street west of Thirteenth Street, printed it on leaflets for sale. Rev. Dr. Huntington, rector of All Saints' Church, Worcester, Mass., asked permission to print it in his Sunday-school hymn and tune book, called ''The Church Porch'',<ref>William Reed Huntington (ed.) ''[https://archive.org/details/churchporchaser00huntgoog The Church Porch: A Service Book and Hymnal for Sunday Schools]'' (E.P. Dutton, 1882)</ref> and it was he who christened the music 'Saint Louis.'}} [[File:Forest Green.png|thumb|"Forest Green", from the English Hymnal, 1906]] In [[Commonwealth of Nations|the Commonwealth]], and sometimes in the U.S. (especially in the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]]), the English hymn tune "Forest Green" is used instead. "Forest Green" was adapted by [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] from an English [[folk song|folk]] [[broadside ballad|ballad]] called "The Ploughboy's Dream" which he had collected from a Mr. Garman of Forest Green, Surrey in 1903.<ref>[http://www.vwml.org/record/RVW2/4/19 Vaughan Williams' Manuscript of "The Ploughboy's Dream"] at the [[Vaughan Williams Memorial Library]] [[The Full English (folk music archive)|Full English collection]], accessed 30 March 2014</ref><ref>Byron Adams, Robin Wells, "Hymn Tunes from Folk Songs" in ''Vaughan Williams essays'', Volume 3; Volume 44, (Ashgate Publishing, 2003), {{ISBN|978-1-85928-387-5}} p.111</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJqgspx57C0 "O Little Town of Bethlehem (Vaughan Williams)"] English hymn.</ref> Henry Garman was born in 1830 in [[Sussex]], and in the [[United Kingdom Census 1901|1901 census]] was living in [[Ockley]], Surrey; Vaughan Williams' manuscript notes he was a "labourer of Forest Green near Ockley - Surrey. (Aged about 60?)", although Mr Garman would have been nearer 73 when he recited the tune.<ref>Mark Browse, [http://hymntunes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/forest-green.html O Little Town], 141-142</ref> The tune has a [[Strophic form|strophic]] verse structure and is in the form A-A-B-A. Adapted into a hymn tune harmonised by Vaughan Williams, it was first published in the ''[[English Hymnal]]'' of 1906. Two versions also exist by [[Henry Walford Davies|H. Walford Davies]], called "Wengen", and "Christmas carol".<ref>http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W3446_GBAJY0110304&vw=dc</ref><ref>http://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3764-walford-davies-tune-for-o-little-town/</ref> "Wengen" was published in ''[[Hymns Ancient and Modern]]'' in 1922,<ref>''[[Hymns Ancient and Modern]]'' (London: William Clowes and Sons, Ltd., 1922)</ref> meanwhile "Christmas Carol" is usually performed only by choirs rather than as a congregational hymn. This is because the first two verses are for treble voices with organ accompaniment, with only the final verse as a chorale/refrain harmony. This setting includes a recitative from the Gospel of Luke at the beginning, and cuts verses 2 and 4 of the original 5-verse carol. This version is often performed at the service of [[Nine Lessons and Carols]] in [[Kings College, Cambridge]].<ref>[http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/chapel-services/nine-lessons/order-service-1999.html Order of Service], ''A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols 1999'', King's College Cambridge 1999.</ref> [[William Rhys-Herbert]] included a new hymn-tune and harmonization as part of his 1909 cantata, ''Bethany''. ==Renditions by popular singers== *[[Bing Crosby]] - included in the album ''[[A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World]]'' (1956). *[[Mahalia Jackson]] (1955 - w/ [[Sid Bass (songwriter)|Sid Bass Orchestra]])<ref>Jackson, Mahalia. "Decca/Apollo...Columbia and Later Recordings". Archived 25 October 2009. https://www.webcitation.org/5kmnShZ4O</ref> <br>(1962 - ''Silent Night: Songs for Christmas'')<ref>Mahalia Jackson Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/74279/Mahalia-Jackson-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> (w/[[John Williams|Johnny Williams]]' Orchestra & Chorus) *[[Elvis Presley]] (1957 - ''[[Elvis' Christmas Album]]'') *[[Nat King Cole]] (1960 - ''[[The Magic of Christmas (Nat King Cole album)|The Magic of Christmas]]'') *Phil Everly of [[The Everly Brothers]] <br>(1962 - ''[[Christmas with the Everly Brothers and the Boystown Choir]]'') *[[Jim Reeves]] (1963 - ''[[Twelve Songs of Christmas]]'') *[[Labelle|Patti Labelle & The Bluebelles]] (1963 - ''Sleigh Bells, Jingle Bells and Bluebelles'') *[[Jo Stafford]] (1964 - ''[[Joyful Season]]'') *[[The Supremes]] (1965 - ''[[Merry Christmas (The Supremes album)|Merry Christmas]]'') *[[Barbra Streisand]] (1967 - ''[[A Christmas Album (Barbra Streisand album)|A Christmas Album]]'') *[[Nora Aunor]] (1972 - ''Christmas Songs'')<ref>Nora Aunor Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/450955/Nora-Aunor-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> *[[Emmylou Harris]] (1979 - ''[[Light of the Stable (album)|Light of the Stable]]'') *[[Johnny Cash]] (1980 - ''[[Classic Christmas (Johnny Cash album)|Classic Christmas]]'') *[[The Carpenters]] (1984 - ''[[An Old-Fashioned Christmas]]'') *[[Dolly Parton]] (1990 - ''[[Home for Christmas (Dolly Parton album)|Home for Christmas]]'') *[[The Young Fresh Fellows]] (1991 - ''A Lump of Coal'')<ref>Young Fresh Fellows Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/275126/Young-Fresh-Fellows-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> *[[Glen Campbell]] (1993 - ''[[Home for the Holidays (Glen Campbell album)|Home for the Holidays]]'') *[[Bob Rivers]] (1993 - ''[[I Am Santa Claus]]'') <br>(Samples "[[The House of the Rising Sun]]" by [[The Animals]]) *[[Neil Diamond]] (1994 - ''[[The Christmas Album, Volume II]]'') *[[Beegie Adair|Beegie Adair Trio]] (1999 - ''Jazz Piano Christmas'') <br>(Medley with "When You Wish Upon a Star")<ref>Beegie Adair Trio's "O Little Town/When You Wish Medley" Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/242913/Beegie-Adair-Trio-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-When-You-Wish-Upon-a-Star-Medley-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> *[[Anne Murray]] (2001 - ''[[What a Wonderful Christmas]]'') *[[Chris Botti]] (2002 - ''[[December (Chris Botti album)|December]]'') *[[Kenny Chesney]] (2003 - ''[[All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan]]'') *[[Sarah McLachlan]] (2006 - ''[[Wintersong]]'') *[[Shawn Lee (musician)|Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra]] (2007 - ''A Very Ping Pong Christmas'')<ref>Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/244880/Shawn-Lee%27s-Ping-Pong-Orchestra-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> *[[Bob Dylan]] (2009 - ''[[Christmas in the Heart]]'') *[[Mariah Carey]] (2010 - ''[[Merry Christmas II You]]'') *[[Jeremy Camp]] (2012 - ''[[Christmas: God with Us]]'') *[[Emily West]] and [[K.S. Rhoads]] (2013 - ''North Star'' EP)<ref>Emily West and K.S. Rhoads Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/358336/Emily-West-K.S.-Rhoads-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> *[[Darren Espanto]] (2014 - ''My Christmas Album All Stars'')<ref>Darren Espanto Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/340578/Darren-Espanto-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> *[[David Bazan]] (2016 - ''Dark Sacred Night'')<ref>David Bazan Cover of Lewis H. Redner and Phillip Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem". WhoSampled.com. http://www.whosampled.com/cover/473214/David-Bazan-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Lewis-H.-Redner-Phillips-Brooks-O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem/</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *Free arrangements for [http://cantorion.org/music/14/O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-Forest-Green-tune-%28UK%29 piano] and [http://cantorion.org/music/4164/O-Little-Town-of-Bethlehem-St.-Louis-tune-%28US%29 SATB] from ''Cantorion.org'' (PD, CPDL) *[http://www.kaiser-ulrich.de/Kaiser/Noten.aspx Free arrangement] for female choir (SSA) by [[:de:Ulrich Kaiser (Musiktheoretiker)|Ulrich Kaiser]] *[http://imslp.org/wiki/Bethany_%28Rhys-Herbert,_William%29 Free hymn arrangement] in the [http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page IMSLP Petrucci Music Library] * [http://www.traditional-songs.com/download_score.php?name=O%20little%20town%20of%20Bethlehem&country=England Free score] * Score of Wengen: ([http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Images/Wengen-1_Walford-Davies.jpg pt 1], [http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Images/Wengen-2_Walford_Davies.jpg pt 2]) * [http://s2.imslp.org/images/thumb/pdfs/6a/018d3167233a7eb3464d4405c4ddaf8da809f02b.png Score of Christmas Carol] {{DEFAULTSORT:O Little Town Of Bethlehem}} [[Category:1860s songs]] [[Category:Christmas carols]] [[Category:American Christmas songs]] [[Category:Compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams]]'