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Do You Hear What I Hear Lyrics

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 wall 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

He will bring us goodness and light
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Cover art for Do You Hear What I Hear lyrics by Carrie Underwood

Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a Christmas song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.

Cover art for Do You Hear What I Hear lyrics by Carrie Underwood

The song describes how word of the birth of the baby Jesus is relayed to higher upon ever higher authority. The message originates with the night wind, which whispers it to a small lamb. The lamb reports the message to his shepherd boy, who in turn conveys the news to the mighty king. The king eventually spreads the message to the "people everywhere". In each verse, the message is slightly modified, in a similar fashion to the game of Telephone.

The song diverges from the Biblical account. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod the Great (king at the time), far from welcoming news of the child's birth, ordered Jesus killed, forcing Jesus and his parents Mary and Joseph to flee, although Matthew 2:8 says, "And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” At the same time, the lyrics do not specify that Herod is the king in question, nor that the events necessarily take place in Judea. Also, the gospel does not state that the shepherds saw a star, only the Magi.

 
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