Countless musicians have performed and re-injected life into traditional songs with examples ranging from Thin Lizzy's (and later Metallica's) Whiskey in a Jar (traditional Irish song) to Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's latest collaboration Among The Gold.
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O Little Town of Bethlehem
Traditional Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
For Christ is born of Mary
And, gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the Holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And peace to men on earth
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven
No ear may hear His coming
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive Him
Still the dear Christ enters in
Where children, pure and happy
Pray to the Blessed Child
Where misery cries out to Thee
Son of the Mother mild
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks
And Christmas comes once more
O Holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born in us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel
The song O Little Town of Bethlehem is a beautiful representation of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. The song begins with the singer describing the town of Bethlehem as being almost asleep, with silent stars shining above it. Despite this silence, there is a bright light in Bethlehem that brings hope and is the source of fear for all. This light is symbolic of the newborn Christ Child, who has been born to Mary.
The second verse speaks of the angels, who are watching over the Christ Child and praising God. The angels are also proclaiming the holy birth to other stars in the sky to tell everyone of Christ's arrival. The verses are filled with an aura of awe and amazement that surrounds Christ's arrival. The third verse is about God imparting his blessings on human hearts and how Christ comes to unite humanity. It speaks of the meek souls who will undoubtedly receive him.
The fourth verse speaks of the children who are celebrating and praying to the Christ Child while others in the town are in misery and crying out for help. However, hope remains for all, through faith and charity. Finally, the singer calls out to the Holy Child to descend and to cast out all sins, bringing hope and light to everyone's lives once more.
Line by Line Meaning
O little town of Bethlehem
The song is addressing Bethlehem, a small town where something momentous has happened
How still we see Thee lie
The town is very quiet and peaceful, and something important is happening there
Above Thy deep and dreamless sleep
The town is so quiet that everyone is sleeping soundly
The silent stars go by
The stars are shining in the sky, but they are not making any noise
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
Even though the streets of Bethlehem are dark, there is still something bright shining there
The everlasting light
This light will never go out
The hopes and fears of all the years
For many years, people have been hopeful and fearful about something that is happening in this town
Are met in Thee tonight
Tonight, what people have been hoping and fearing for is coming true
For Christ is born of Mary
The reason why this is such an important night is because Jesus Christ has been born
And, gathered all above
The angels are gathered above, watching what is happening
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Even though people on earth are sleeping, the angels are awake and watching over things
Their watch of wondering love
The angels are full of love and wonder as they watch what is happening
O morning stars, together
The stars in the sky are so bright they appear to be morning stars
Proclaim the Holy birth
The stars are there to celebrate and honor Jesus's birth
And praises sing to God the King
The stars sing praises to God because of what has happened in Bethlehem
And peace to men on earth
As a result of Jesus's birth, there will be peace on earth
How silently, how silently
Jesus's birth was silent and unassuming
The wondrous gift is given
Jesus's birth was a wonderful gift to humanity
So God imparts to human hearts
As a result of Jesus's birth, God will put something in people's hearts
The blessings of His heaven
These blessings come from God's heaven
No ear may hear His coming
Jesus's birth was so quiet that no one heard it
But in this world of sin
Even though the world is full of sin, Jesus still came into it
Where meek souls will receive Him
People who are humble and open-minded will be the ones who accept Jesus
Still the dear Christ enters in
Despite the darkness of the world, Jesus still enters it
Where children, pure and happy
Children, who are innocent and joyful, are especially receptive to Jesus
Pray to the Blessed Child
Children are praying to Jesus, who is a blessed child
Where misery cries out to Thee
People who are suffering and unhappy are also crying out to Jesus for help
Son of the Mother mild
Jesus is the son of Mary, who is kind and gentle
Where charity stands watching
Charity, or acts of kindness and generosity, are being practiced in Bethlehem
And faith holds wide the door
People in Bethlehem have faith in Jesus and are welcoming him with open arms
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks
Jesus's birth is causing the night to become brighter and more glorious
And Christmas comes once more
This is the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus
O Holy Child of Bethlehem
Jesus is being addressed as a holy child, born in Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
People are praying for Jesus to come to them
Cast out our sin and enter in
People are asking Jesus to help them get rid of their sins and enter their lives
Be born in us today
People are asking Jesus to be born in them today, so that they can be reborn and start anew
We hear the Christmas angels
Just like the angels in the sky, people on earth are hearing about Jesus's birth
The great glad tidings tell
People are proclaiming the good news about Jesus's birth
O come to us, abide with us
People are asking Jesus to come to them and stay with them forever
Our Lord Emmanuel
Jesus is being called Emmanuel, which means 'God with us'
Contributed by Christopher G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Melissa Sings
Thank you so much for listening to my cover I really enjoyed recording these Christmas hymns this year and more songs will be coming out in the next few weeks. "Oh little town of Bethlehem" is also part of my traditional Christmas song lyrics album playlist and can also be listened to on Spotify on my Traditional Christmas song album "Beautiful Classic Christmas Songs"
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Sz0CADBnw47I3H3qoZ3Hp?si=KTJLwZbWS-i6hN_4BOPsHw
~ Melissa Kellie Xx
Coco TeeTV
Wow! This is you singing? Love it
GarinTV
Melissa, I'm your new friend here sending support... Hope to see you around againπ
You're right, listening to your songs brings back childhood memories, love itππππ
Angie Patique music A.
Another marvelous Christmas song! You're a blessing and love all the Christmas decorations . Hope this moment bring peace and comfort
to everyone ππ
Thank you so much for sharing β€οΈ
Foreversinging5
ππSuch a sweet and heartfelt performance of this great holiday classic!! I love the snow and house structures, reminds me of some of my family who lives in Germany!! Santa looks so adorable walking away with the bag of toys in the end too!! Thank you for this blessed wonderful celebration of Christmas and our savior!! Happy safe weekend and see you soon forever angel!!ππ
Melissa Sings
Awww you are so sweet!!! so glad it could bring back memories with your family in Germany! happy new year!!!
WorshipTimePHπ΅
Christmas is coming very soon, happy holiday everyone! May you always be happy everyone, thank you for this beautiful music friend!
Music Excellence
This is so beautiful Christmas Song. I feel so peace listening to this. Thank you so much my dear friend πππ
Melissa Sings
Aww thank you so much!!
Trish Lee
Such a great music here that you shared with us my friend, music is something that I always enjoy and this is perfect for the upcoming Christmas! You did well creating this music!β€