Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brickman enrolled in the Cleveland Institute of Music taking courses in composition and performance, while taking business classes at Case Western Reserve University. His music career started when he was nineteen, when Jim Henson hired him to write tunes for Sesame Street. He was also hired to write commercial jingles while in college.
Brickman writes a wide variety of music. Besides his piano compositions and love songs, he has also created arrangements of other songs. Several of his albums feature arrangements of children's music; he has produced two Christmas-themed albums The Gift (1997) and Peace (2003); and his 2005 album Grace concentrates on arrangements of well-known Christian music.
Jim Brickman has also starred in the now-on-DVD PBS specials "My Romance: An Evening with Jim Brickman", "Love Songs & Lullabies" and "The Disney Songbook." In 2006, he sponsored his first Jim Brickman Valentine's Day Cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines which has become an annual event.
O Holy Night
Jim Brickman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
The lyrics of Jim Brickman's song "O Holy Night" beautifully narrate the story of Jesus Christ's birth and the various events that unfolded during that time. The song starts by describing the night of Jesus' birth, stating that the "stars are brightly shining." It goes on to describe the state of the world before Jesus' arrival, when it was filled with sin and error. However, with Jesus' arrival, the "Spirit felt its worth," and the world was filled with hope and rejoicing. The lyrics urge the listeners to fall on their knees and hear the angel voices, emphasizing the divine and miraculous nature of Jesus' birth.
The second verse describes the scene at Jesus' birthplace, where people gather around his manger with glowing hearts, led by the light of faith. The arrival of the wisemen from the Orient is also mentioned, highlighting the significance of Jesus' birth and the reverence it commanded. The verse ends with the message that Jesus was born to be our friend and knows our needs and weaknesses.
The final verse talks about the teachings of Jesus and his message of love and peace. It talks about how he broke the chains of slavery and oppression and how his name has the power to bring an end to all forms of oppression. The verse also emphasizes the message of joy and gratitude that Jesus' birth brought and urges the listeners to proclaim his power and glory forever.
Overall, the lyrics of "O Holy Night" convey the divine and miraculous nature of Jesus' birth and the message of hope, love, and peace that it brought to the world.
Line by Line Meaning
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
The night is holy and the stars shine with a special light.
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
It is the night when Jesus Christ, our dear Savior, was born.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
The world waited for a long time in sin and wrong beliefs.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
Until Jesus Christ was born and the importance of the Holy Spirit was realized.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
The tired and troubled world feels a surge of hope and rejoices.
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
A new and splendid day is about to begin.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Kneel down and listen to the angelic voices.
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
Oh, what a heavenly night it was when Jesus Christ was born.
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
Oh, what a holy and divine night it was!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
Guided by the light of faith shining softly.
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
Our hearts are filled with warmth as we stand by the crib of Jesus Christ.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
A star shines beautifully over the entire world.
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The wise men are coming from the East.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
The King of kings was born in a humble manger.
In all our trials born to be our friends.
Jesus Christ, born among us, is our friend through all our difficulties.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Jesus Christ knows our needs and He is not unfamiliar with our weaknesses.
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Look at your King! Bow down humbly before Him!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
Jesus Christ truly taught us to love each other.
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Love is Jesus Christ's law and peace is the basis of His good news.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
Jesus Christ will break the chains of slavery, for those in bondage are our brothers.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Oppression will come to an end in the name of Jesus Christ.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
We sing sweet hymns of gladness and gratitude together.
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
We praise the name of Jesus Christ with all our hearts.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
Jesus Christ is our Lord! Let us always and forever praise Him.
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
Let us continually proclaim the power and glory of Jesus Christ!
Contributed by Mateo L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jp medendorp
Such a beautiful song and arrangement. It just moves around the piano perfectly. I love it. Sitting here at the piano trying to do this song justice, even if only to my own ears..
Terrilee Perry
My father's favorite Christmas song...one of my favorites too.
lori burke
I'd like to dedicate this song to my late brother in law who left us,way too soon..though this may not have been one of his favarite Christmas songs, it just popped into my mind. Miss you Hilton
Beverly Hill
LORI, I HOPE YOU SEE MY POST. MY HEART LITERALLY ACHES FOR YOUR PAIN AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILY. I UNDERSTAND THE LOSS OF ONE TOO SOON. MY DAUGHTER'S HUSBAND PASSED AWAY ON 12 NOVEMBER 2021. APRIL WILL NEVER GET OVER NICK. THEIR LOVE STORY WAS SO TRAGIC, YET FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL AND GENTLE, CARING AND EVERLASTING LOVE IN MEMORIES MADE. APRIL AND NICK ALSO LOST THEIR BABY GIRL AT THREE AND A HALF MONTHS OLD. THEIR BABY GIRL WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GIFT. SHE HAD BIG BROWN EYES, A SMILE THAT COULD MELT ONE INTO A PUDDLE. SHE ALWAYS FOLDED HER LITTLE HANDS AS IF SHE WAS PRAYING. HER NAME WAS EVOLEHT RAELYN, (THE LOVE SPELLING BACKWARDS IN HER FIRST NAME...NICK LOVED THIS NAME AND APRIL IS SO HAPPY HE WANTED TO GIVE THEIR BABY THIS LOVING NAME). I AM TRULY SORRY FOR ANYONE THAT HAS DEEP PAIN IN THEIR LIFE. AN EMPATH. I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THAT YOUR PAIN WILL GO AWAY. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT. IT WILL GET EASIER TO FUNCTION AND TO COP AFTER MUCH THERAPY AND WITH GOD'S LOVING HEART TO CARRY YOU ALL DAILY. GOD BE EVER NEAR YOU AND ALL THOSE THAT LOVED YOUR BROTHER. STAY CLOSE TO GOD, AND YOU WILL SEE HIM IN HEAVEN. THAT IS OUR BEST HOPE WE HAVE IN THE MIDST OF DEEP PAIN. THANKS FOR SHARING.~~BEV~~VIRGINIA
MBR
This is ..heavenly.. it brings to mind..a wonderful memory in my youth..through the years..several different groups got together..to go...Caroling... this songs is one that rings true... Caroling seems to be ...a memory of the past....what a shame...
Cheri Edwards
Very Beautiful.
Fort Romulo Almendras
Great job Mr Jim Brickman loved it from the Philippines..Christmas 2021lets give love to the region of Visayas and Mindanao ..👍🤝💖🙏🏼😋🇵🇭