Official site: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kennetharnold
Town
Kenneth W. Arnold Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above
While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love
Oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth.
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
The lyrics to Kenneth W. Arnold's song "Town" are actually the popular Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem." The song paints a vivid picture of the town where Jesus was born - a sleepy, still town, covered in darkness and blanketed by silence, with only the stars watching over it. But the birth of Jesus brings a light that shines even in the darkest of streets, a hope that envelopes the entire town and all its inhabitants. The lyrics remind us of the wonder and awe that the birth of Jesus inspires, as even the angels above marvel at this holy event.
The carol also highlights the universal significance of Jesus' birth, as it is a night when all the hopes and fears of all the years are met in this one small town, uniting people of all nations and time periods. It is a night of peace, when God's love and mercy are made manifest through the birth of His Son. The lyrics remind us that the true meaning of Christmas lies in this holy event, and that it has the power to bring us hope, joy, and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Oh small town of Bethlehem, we see you lying peacefully and calmly
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
The quiet stars are passing by above the town, while everyone is sleeping soundly
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
But in your dark streets, the eternal light still shines bright
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
All the hopes and fears of many years come together in you tonight.
For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above
Christ was born from Mary, and all of the angels gathered around above him
While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love
Even though humans are sleeping, the angels look on with love and amazement
Oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth.
The morning stars sing together, proclaiming the holy birth
And praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.
They sing praises to God, the king, and wish for peace to all men on Earth
Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Oh small town of Bethlehem, we see you lying peacefully and calmly
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
The quiet stars are passing by above the town, while everyone is sleeping soundly
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light
But in your dark streets, the eternal light still shines bright
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
All the hopes and fears of many years come together in you tonight.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LEROY ANDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
RetroGamingMusic
Watch more video game music covers here, i've prepared a playlist for you:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL92925Z7P5ktP4YORRVc4FBRjsAf4RRDi
Nicked
This is truly beautiful. So nostalgic. Thank you so much for making this.
RetroGamingMusic
Thank you! ❤ I can play this one live for you on my Friday Live Show! And you can request other songs to play too. https://www.youtube.com/live/oQo2x1P1iRc?si=NJOJGnqT37VaYz5b
UnamusedClerk
Nice one! Not familiar with the original myself, but this certainly had the feel of a stroll around town. Getting into RPG territory now? Oh, the inspiration you can find...
RetroGamingMusic
This was an request in a Youtube comment. And reading about Ultima, being a big game and accessible on many platforms. Trying to widen my audience. Hope vacation is well!
Michael Rosenfeld
Here's the original https://youtu.be/dTDCkgs70Qo
Gary Morrison
Wonderful cover!
I just asked Ken if he could comment here. He’s very modest about the very-memorable music he wrote here. Sometimes he seems more proud of having crammed, not only all of the music itself, but also the software to play it, all into (get this) 4K of memory! I’d say rightfully so; that’s quite a feat in itself!
RetroGamingMusic
Wow thank you! Nice to know some history about these songs! Cool information. Is there other songs you would like for me to perform?
Tobias Hübner
I just read, that Ken Arnold was the first person to ever use tile graphics in a video game (Ultima1 ). So he invented a technique, that quickly afterwards became a standard in almost every video game in the 80s, like Super Mario World. If you are in contact with him, could you ask him, if that's true?
Gary Morrison
@Tobias Hübner, I was involved just a tiny bit with the original Ultima: I contributed a couple of assembly-language sound routines for which I got a free copy of the game. 😉
My off-the-cuff recollection is that “Lord British” had already written the vast majority of Ultima including its graphics before Ken got involved. As I recall, at the time, Lord British and I were both attending UT Austin, and Ken was at University of Houston.
I’m asking him though…