all is calm, all is bright

Annika Norlin – Silent Night

story of a song

There was a kid called Joseph,
He’d been dealt a bad hand:
Was born poor and a bastard,
But grew up to be a preacher,
Made a new friend called Franz.

Joe went over to Franz house,
Said: see this poem I once wrote.
I feel like it’s got something,
Can you please put some music
To my words?

Looking down at the paper
And the title read: Silent Night

The first time they performed it
It was Christmas Eve.
They sang it together,
Franz played the guitar –
I can see them before me.

And this big shot organ builder
Fell in love with the song,
Brought it back to his home town
Where some folk singers heard it
And they spread it around.

Slightly changed each time it was sung, was Silent Night.

When I’m down I just think about it –
How they must have felt when they performed it,
If the choir cried when they sang it,
If anyone in the church that day said –
Well I like the older stuff better,
They should do more upbeat tunes

It could have been a day like any other day,
When Joseph would be preachin’ and Franz would be playin’.
9 out of 10 days are slightly disappointing,
But on the tenth, you see that light beckoning.
They had no idea that Silent Night would be Silent Night

Sing it with me.
Let your voice carry from all those miles away.
If you sing loud enough, my microphone might record you,
It might record you.

Silent night, holy night
Silent night, holy night
Silent night, holy night
Silent night, holy night

In World War One, 1914
Because it was Christmas
There was a short truce on the battlefield.

Both sides laid down their weapons,
Sang carols in the night
And the day after
Like nothing had happened, they continued the fight.

There was only one song
Known to soldiers on both sides
And for a second
All was calm, and all was bright

Christmas truce

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About kuzzzma

Artist, photographer, papercraft designer, doll and action figures collector, traveller. Speaking Russian and English.

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