The Four Tops are an American Motown musical quartet, whose repertoire has … Read Full Bio ↴The Four Tops are an American Motown musical quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, RnB, disco, adult contemporary, showtunes, and even psychedelic rock. Founded in Detroit, Michigan as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs and group mates Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, finally forced to endure a lineup change when Payton died in 1997. At that time, Theo Peoples was added to the lineup; Peoples later replaced Stubbs, who fell ill from cancer, and Ronnie McNeir assumed Peoples' spot. In July, 2005, Benson died of lung cancer with Payton's son Roquel replacing him. And as of April, 2005, Fakir, McNeir, Payton and Peoples still perform together as The Four Tops. The legendary Levi Stubbs sadly passed away in 2008.

Among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s, including The Miracles, The Marvelettes, The Temptations and The Supremes, The Four Tops were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer; most groups of the time were fronted by a tenor. The group was the main male vocal group for the songwriting and production team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, who crafted for the group a stream of popular hit singles, including two #1 hits: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out I'll Be There". After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson. When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, the Tops stayed in Detroit and moved over to ABC Records, where they continued to have charting singles into the late-1970s. Since the 1980s, The Four Tops have recorded for, at various times, Motown, Casablanca Records, and Arista Records.

As an unofficial record, it is believed that The Four Tops were the band to continue performing the longest without a lineup change. Levi Stubbs, Abdul Fakir, Renaldo Benson and Lawrence Payton sang together as the Four Tops from 1954 until 1997, when Lawrence Payton died of cancer. That's an astonishing 43 years without a lineup change. The three surviving members continued to tour as "The Tops."

Away In a Manger
The Four Tops Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Away in a manger,
no crib for His bed,
The little Lord Jesus
lay down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky
looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus,
asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing,
the poor Baby wakes,
But little Lord Jesus,
no crying He makes;
I love Thee, Lord Jesus,
look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle
till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay,
Close by me forever,
and love me, I pray!
Bless all the dear children
in Thy tender care

And take us to heaven,
to Live with Thee there.

Overall Meaning

The Four Tops’s version of “Away in a Manger” is a beautiful and heartwarming rendition of the traditional Christmas carol. The song paints a clear picture of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, and specifically describes the tender and loving care that the little baby received from both his parents and from God. The first verse begins with a simple observation that there was no available crib for the baby to sleep in, so he was laid down on a bed of hay instead. The second verse then goes on to describe the peaceful scene around the baby, as the stars in the sky shine down upon him. The final verse of the song is a loving prayer to Jesus, asking him to stay close to the singer forever and to bless all of the dear children in his care.

One interesting thing to note about “Away in a Manger” is that it was not originally written as a Christmas carol at all. The lyrics to the song are sometimes attributed to Martin Luther or John McFarland, but the true authorship is still unknown. The melody for the song was also popular long before it was used for this specific carol - it has been used in other contexts, including as a lullaby.

Line by Line Meaning

Away in a manger,
Far away in a feeding trough,

no crib for His bed,
No fancy bed for the little Lord,

The little Lord Jesus
The baby Jesus,

lay down his sweet head.
He lay down his head to rest.

The stars in the sky
Those shiny objects in the sky,

looked down where He lay
Looked down from their heavenly place to where He rested,

The little Lord Jesus,
The infant Lord Jesus,

asleep on the hay.
Laid quietly, fast asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing,
The cows make noise,

the poor Baby wakes,
The little baby wakes up,

But little Lord Jesus,
But the baby Jesus,

no crying He makes;
He doesn't cry or whine.

I love Thee, Lord Jesus,
I adore you, Lord Jesus,

look down from the sky
Look at me, from the heavens above.

And stay by my cradle
Stay near my crib,

till morning is nigh.
Until morning comes near.

Be near me, Lord Jesus,
Please be close to me, Lord Jesus,

I ask Thee to stay,
I humbly request that you stay here,

Close by me forever,
Always beside me, forever,

and love me, I pray!
And please love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children
Bless all the beloved children,

in Thy tender care
In your loving and compassionate care,

And take us to heaven,
Bring us to heaven,

to Live with Thee there.
To live and be with you in heaven.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: William J. Kirkpatrick, Traditional

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS