Noël Regney – Do You Hear What I Hear?

French WW2 Veteran Léon Schlienger (written backwards as Noël Regney, minus the “Schl and replacing “i” with “y”) was drafted into the Nazi army.  Some have claimed that he later became a double-agent, leading Nazis to an ambush on some occasions.  He and his first wife Gloria Shayne wrote many songs together, combining Regney’s musical scores with Shayne’s lyrics.  These include Sweet Little Darlin, What’s The Use of Crying, Rain, Rain, Go Away, and Do You Hear What I Hear?  Unusually, Regney wrote the lyrics to Do You Hear What I Hear? while Shayne composed the music.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Noel-regney-and-gloria-shayne-baker-do-you-hear-what-i-hear-lyrics.

Side Note: While Bing Crosby’s version popularized this song, it was originally released by Harry Simeone Chorale, the same group that popularized The Little Drummer Boy.  I’ve credited Regney because he was willing to record his version, but was hesitant due to the commercialization of Christmas.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

This song is about world peace, reminding us that Jesus is the reason for the season.  It borrows from the lamb, shepherds, wise men, and star with heavy use of poetic license to respond to the Cuban Missile Crisis.  It brings us back to baby Jesus, remembering that this King would bring us goodness and light.  It’s as if Regney is asking the question, “what kind of world do you want, one ruled by war and destruction, or ruled by a good light-bearing King like Jesus?” and pushing for the latter.  The opening Verse tips Regney’s hat, that this song is not meant to accurately reflect the Christmas accounts.  While I won’t penalize the overall message for this, that won’t be the case for section 2!

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Almost the entire song is poetic license based on the Biblical characters.  However, it is not Biblical that the shepherds saw the star, conversed with the King, or heard angels sing.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-6: Nowhere in Scripture does a “night wind” speak to a lamb, leading most people to conclude this song is allegorical and not an accurate representation of Biblical accounts.  One of the major events in 1962 was the Cuban missile crisis.  Regney seems to borrow from both Biblical elements to speak against it, with the “tail as big as a kite” referencing the smoke from a fired missile.

Scripture doesn’t say that the shepherds and their animals witnessed the star seen by the kings (Matthew 2:2).  Scripture also doesn’t describe the star “with a tail as big as a kite”.

Line 7: Repeats line 6.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-6: I’ll give the shepherd boy a pass for mistaking the little lamb for an angel (Luke 2:8-12).  He’s only a boy after all!  The “voice as a big as the sea” are the multitude of angels who praised and glorified God (Luke 2:13-14).  However, they weren’t singing (Luke 2:13).

Line 7: Repeats line 6.

[Verse 3]

Lines 1-6: No Scripture states that the shepherds met the magi or suggested the gifts that were offered (Matthew 2:11).  However, it seems reasonable that baby Jesus shivered in the cold.

Line 7: Repeats line 6.

[Verse 4]

Lines 1-4: The Bible doesn’t offer such a prayer; However, it seems likely that these kings who visited Jesus had subjects who came with them.  God warned them not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:12), so perhaps they were aware that Herod had less than honorable intentions?  This could legitimize this prayer.  Also, if we return to the Cuban Missile Crisis scenario, this would be Regney’s mantra to the world, that our leaders would work together.  It also indirectly calls for us to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Lines 5 and 6: The Scripture doesn’t state these as their reasoning, but considering that they came to worship Him (Matthew 2:2), it’s likely that they believed this.  Jesus is both good (1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 23:6, Psalm 27:13, Psalm 31:19-20, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 100:5, Psalm 106:1, Psalm 119:68, Psalm 135:3, Psalm 136:1, Psalm 145:9, Lamentations 3:25, Nahum 1:7, Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18, and Luke 18:19) and light (John 1:1-8, John 8:12, and Ephesians 5:14).

Lines 7 and 8: Repeats line 6.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those who do not yet know Jesus will likely see elements of the Christian version of Christmas, including the star, shepherds, a king, and the child.  The opening lines will give away that it’s not a literal representation of Biblical events.  Considering that it was written in 1962, we could probably conclude that unbelievers at the time probably knew about the Cuban crisis and would view this song as a response to it.  They will probably think they should pray for peace, with the rest as a message passing from the lowly peasants to middlemen to rulers, that Jesus is better than war.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Despite its Biblical inaccuracies, this song glorifies God by responding to threats of war by reminding us that peace and goodwill are better methods for countries to interact with one another.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

Noël Regney’s Do You Hear What I Hear? is inspiring.  Believers and unbelievers alike will see a song that urges them to act peaceably among each other, with this message passed down from the bottom of our social structure up to the top, borrowing from certain Biblical elements to make this point.

My commentary on the song’s Biblical inaccuracies, despite its intention to the contrary, will likely be seen as an excessive nitpick on my part.  However, this is a Biblical review, so feel free to take it with a grain (or a pound) of salt.

This song is inspirational, but not appropriate for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9/10

Artist Info

Track: Do You Hear What I Hear? (listen to the song)

Artist: Noël Regney

Album: The Wonderful Songs Of Christmas with the Harry Simeone Chorale

Genre:  Christmas, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 1962

Duration: 3:05

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