What is "Silent Night" - Full Lyrics, History, Artist Profile (Christmas song)
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They did not know it then, but their song would go on to be the world’s most famous Christmas carol.
The song is called, in English, “Silent Night.”
The song has since been translated into 300 languages. A Time magazine study in 2014 found that “Silent Night” is the most popular Christmas song ever, with 733 copyrighted recordings.
Originally written in German, ‘Stille Nacht’ was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber with lyrics by Joseph Mohr, and was translated to English in 1859. During the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I, the carol was sung simultaneously by English and German troops.
History
"Stille Nacht" was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at the Nikolauskirche, the parish church of Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young Catholic priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, he had written the poem "Stille Nacht" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau region, where Joseph had worked as an assistant priest.
The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf [de], now part of Lamprechtshausen. On Christmas Eve 1818, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for that night's mass, after river flooding had possibly damaged the church organ. The church was eventually destroyed by repeated flooding and replaced with the Silent-Night-Chapel. It is unknown what inspired Mohr to write the lyrics, or what prompted him to create a new carol.
In film
Several theatrical and television films depict how the song was ostensibly written. Most of them report the organ breaking down at the church in Oberndorf, which appeared in a fictional story published in the U.S. in the 1930s.
The Legend of Silent Night (1968) TV film directed by Daniel Mann
Silent Night, Holy Night (1976) animated short film by Hanna-Barbera.
Silent Mouse (1988) television special directed and produced by Robin Crichton and narrated by Lynn Redgrave.
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night (1998) direct-to-video animated featurette
Silent Night (2012) directed by Christian Vuissa
The First Silent Night (2014), documentary narrated by Simon Callow
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Full Lyrics (English)
[Verse 1]
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
[Verse 2]
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born
[Verse 3]
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
