It sounds a lot older than it is, and it’s not about Christmas at all.
At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, songwriters Noël Regeney and Gloria Shayne were trying in vain to write a B-side for a single, but they were glued to the radio and television like everyone else, waiting to hear if nuclear annihilation was about to happen.
On their way home from the studio, they passed two mothers pushing their babies in strollers. In their heightened emotional state, Regeney and Shayne were profoundly affected by the sight of the babies, who were gazing and smiling at each other angelically.
War might have seemed imminent, but in that moment they saw hope for peace. Regeney thought the babies reminded him of little lambs, and a song was born.
Regeney was a lapsed Catholic; his wife and songwriting partner Shayne was Jewish. Neither ever intended to write a Christmas song, even though Regeney intentionally coopted Christian imagery for his lyrics.
Intended or not, “Do You Hear What I Hear” became an immensely popular holiday song, and arguably the most misunderstood.
We all know the first verse of “Do You Hear What I Hear”:
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
But not many realize that the “star” is actually a nuclear missile (with a trail “as big as a kite”).
And if you didn’t know the symbolism of the star, you probably didn’t realize that the “song, high above the trees, with a voice as big as the sea” is the missile’s nuclear explosion.
Or that the second half of the song, which focuses on the “mighty king” behind his palace walls and the child shivering in the cold, represents the human toll of war while political leaders are protected.
Regeney and Shayne wrote the song quickly, and The Harry Simeone Chorale recorded and released it just weeks later, shortly after Thanksgiving. No doubt in part due to its timing, the listening public glommed onto the surface of “Do You Hear What I Hear” and missed the subtext.
The lyricist who once swore he’d never write a Christmas song suddenly found himself responsible for one of the biggest hits of the holiday season. And when Bing Crosby released a cover of it during the one-year anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, “Do You Hear What I Hear” was cemented as an eternal holiday hit.
“Do You Hear What I Hear” was still popular during the 2016 holiday season. when Bruce Springsteen made one of his many appearances at Sting and Trudie Styler’s annual-ish benefit concert for The Rainforest Foundation.
That year’s show had a holiday theme, and Bruce neither surprised nor disappointed with his popular versions of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” and “Merry Christmas Baby.”
But if Bruce’s set list choices were predictable, the encores weren’t: Bruce joined the night’s talent line-up (including Sting, Jennifer Nettles, Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, James Taylor, and Idina Menzel) on stage for two traditional Christmas carols. Well, make that one traditional carol and one misinterpreted one: Bruce’s one and only public performance of “Do You Hear What I Hear.”
Still, even if the context of “Do You Hear What I Hear” is misunderstood, its message isn’t:
Pray for peace, people everywhere.
So regardless of whether you hear what I hear in “Do You Hear What I Hear,” I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.
And may we all have peace on earth soon.
Do You Hear What I Hear
First performed: December 14, 2016 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: December 14, 2016 (New York City, NY)
I did not know the true meaning of the lyrics prior to reading this. Very informative.