Written October 1962 Lyricist(s) Noël Regney | Composer(s) Gloria Shayne Baker | |
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a 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. Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of the Christmas holiday. It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.
Contents
Songwriting
Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Shayne composed the music in October 1962. This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers. Usually it was Shayne who wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music, as they did when they wrote a song based on the classic children's song "Rain Rain Go Away".
Regney was inspired to write the lyrics "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" and "Pray for peace, people everywhere" after watching babies being pushed in strollers on the sidewalks of New York City. Shayne stated in an interview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. "Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of nuclear war at the time."
Original Recordings
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" was released shortly after Thanksgiving in 1962. The song was originally recorded by the Harry Simeone Chorale, a group which had also popularized "The Little Drummer Boy". It went on to sell more than a quarter-million copies during the 1962 Christmas holiday season.
Bing Crosby made the song into a hit when he recorded his own version of it on October 21, 1963, with the record being released as a single on October 26. Crosby also performed the song on a Bob Hope Christmas television special on December 13 of that year. Over the years, Crosby's recording of the song has been widely played on the radio, and has been available on numerous compilation Christmas albums and compact discs put out by Capitol Records.
Cover Versions
The song was later recorded in diverse ways by hundreds of artists including:
(appears on various artists' 1995 holiday album Christmas Encore!)
(1968 - Robert Goulet's Wonderful World of Christmas)
(What if Mozart Wrote Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas)
(for the Special Olympics benefit album A Very Special Christmas)
(2007 - Miss Patti's Christmas)
(1997 - This Is Christmas)
(with St. Paul's Cathedral Choir & English Chamber Orchestra)
(2000 - Christmas Stays the Same)
(2001 - from the Destiny's Child album 8 Days of Christmas)
(2002 - for various artists' holiday album The Santa Sessions)
(2002 - for the holiday compilation album The Spirit of Christmas 2002)
(2003 - Christmastime: The Day that a Child Appeared)
(as "Do You See What I See")
(2004 - for the holiday compilation album Maybe This Christmas Tree)
(2008 - Walmart holiday edition of her album Carnival Ride)
(2009 - Connie Talbot's Holiday Magic)
(for the Special Olympics holiday album A Very Special Christmas 7)
(2010 - from Susan Boyle's album The Gift)
(2013 - for the holiday compilation album Punk Goes Christmas)
Use in a Medley with other songs
Appearances in Films, TV and as a Sample
Regney said that his favorite version was performed by Robert Goulet. As The New York Times noted, when the singer came to the line "Pray for peace, people everywhere," he "almost shouted the words."