Away in a manger

"Away in a Manger" is a religious Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second^[1].

History of the lyrics

The song was first published with two verses in an Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School collection, Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (1885), edited by James R. Murray (1841-1905), where it simply bore the title "Away in a Manger" and was set to a tune called "St. Kilda," credited to J.E. Clark.^[2]

For many years the text was credited to the German reformer Martin Luther. Research has shown, however, that this is nothing more than a fable.^[3] In the book Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses (1887) it bears the title "Luther's Cradle Hymn" and the note, "Composed by Martin Luther for his children, and still sung by German mothers to their little ones."^[4] A possible reason for the spurious attribution to Luther is that the 400th anniversary of his birth was in 1883. The words were either based on a poem written for this anniversary or were credited to Luther as a clever marketing gimmick.^[5] This song has never been found in Luther's works. The first half of the melody is identical to the beginning of the second theme of Waltz #4, transposed down a fourth, in G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald, Op. 325 by Johann Strauss Jr., composed 19 years earlier ^[6].

The third stanza, "Be near me, Lord Jesus" was first printed in Gabriel's Vineyard Songs (1892), where it appeared with a tune by Charles H. Gabriel (simply marked "C"), thus these words are probably by Gabriel. Gabriel credited the entire text to Luther and gave it the title "Cradle Song." This verse is sometimes attributed to Dr. John McFarland, but since the popular story dates his contribution to 1904 (postdating the 1892 printing by 12 years), his contribution is highly questionable.^[7]

Some^[who?] consider the lyrics to be based on heresies due to the reference to Jesus not crying suggested super-human characteristics that were ascribed to him by certain sects such as the Gnostics^[1].

Music

Murray's tune, which is the tune most commonly printed in the U.S., is typically given the name "Mueller."

The tune "Cradle Song" was written by William J. Kirkpatrick for the musical Around the World with Christmas (1895). Kirkpatrick, like others before him, attributed the words to Luther.

It is also sung to an adaptation of the melody originally composed in 1837 by Jonathan E. Spilman to Flow gently, sweet Afton.

Recordings

• Emma Matthews (2009)
• Linda Ronstadt from A Merry Little Christmas (2000)

See also

• The New Oxford Book of Carols (1998), Oxford University Press. Edited by Hugh Keyte and Andrew Parrott
• Song lyrics

References

External links

• Free arrangements for piano and voice from Cantorion.org

• Free scores of this work ("Cradle Song" or "Mueller") in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)