"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics byNoël Regney and music byGloria Shayne.[1] The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during theCuban Missile Crisis.[2] Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of Christmas.[3] It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.[2]
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" tells a story loosely based upon the story of theNativity of Jesus as told in theGospel of Matthew, incorporating fragments of theannunciation to the shepherds from theGospel of Luke, though Jesus is never mentioned by name or explicitly identified. A "night wind" tells a lamb of astar, following which the lamb tells his young shepherd that he also hears a loud song. They are each led to a "mighty king," whom they tell of a child in the cold and ask to bring the child silver and gold (much as theBiblical Magi, which in tradition with prophecies in theBook of Isaiah andPsalm 72 are often characterized as kings, did with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The king proclaims a prayer of peace and announces that the child will "bring goodness and light".[citation needed]
Regney wrote the lyrics for the song, while Shayne composed the music in October 1962.[2] This was an unusual arrangement for the two writers. Usually, it was Shayne who wrote the lyrics for their songs while Regney composed the music, as they did when they wrote a song based on the classic children's song "Rain, Rain, Go Away".[1][2]
Regney was inspired to write the lyrics "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" and "Pray for peace, people everywhere" after watching babies being pushed instrollers on the sidewalks ofNew York City.[1] Shayne stated in aninterview years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding theCuban Missile Crisis: "Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of war at the time".[1]
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" was released shortly afterThanksgiving in 1962.[1] The song was originally recorded forMercury Records by theHarry Simeone Chorale,[1] a group that had also popularized "The Little Drummer Boy", and released as part of the albumThe Wonderful Songs of Christmas with the Harry Simeone Chorale. As a 45 rpm single, it went on to sell more than a quarter-million copies during the 1962Christmas holiday season.[1]
Bing Crosby made the song into a hit when he recorded his own version of it on October 21, 1963,[4] with the record being released as a single on October 26. Crosby also performed the song on aBob Hope Christmas television special on December 13 of that year. Over the years, Crosby's recording of the song has been widely played on the radio and has been available on numerous compilation Christmas albums and compact discs put out byCapitol Records.
Regney said that his favorite version of the song was performed by Robert Goulet; asThe New York Times noted, when the singer came to the line "pray for peace, people everywhere", he "almost shouted the words".[9]
Houston originally recorded the song as part of the various-artists compilationA Very Special Christmas in 1987, omitting the first verse. In 1995, Houston included the song in her CD single for her number one single, "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)".[10] Her version peaked at the top ofBillboard Gospel Digital Songs and Gospel Streaming Songs on 2011 and 2018 and stayed for a record 42 weeks on the former[11] while 20 weeks on the latter.[12]
On October 25, 2019,Pentatonix released their cover version featuring Houston's vocals, as part of the group's compilation albumThe Best of Pentatonix Christmas.[13] The Pentatonix version would go on to peak at number 9 on the USAdult Contemporary chart, making it Houston's 25th Top 10 single on the chart.[14]
