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Is anything sacred? Interesting changes I never knew about, and sharing.
What are the lyrics to ‘O Holy Night’?
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Chorus
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.
The most popular English rendition of “Cantique de Noël” was translated by American music critic and minister John Sullivan Dwight in 1855. An ordained minister and Unitarian, he soon departed from the vocation of ministry to instead pursue a career in music and teaching. Dwight was influenced by the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is accepted that Dwight altered Cappeau’s lyrics significantly more than would have been necessary to produce a singable translation, changing the meaning of certain parts. “O hear the angel voices […] O night divine” replaced “Await your deliverance […] Behold the Redeemer” and “With all our hearts we praise his holy name” replaced “It is for us that he was born, that he suffered and died.” Another English translation , “O Night Divine”, was done by American musician Hart Pease Danks who was influenced by Dwight’s version as early as 1885, and both competed in popularity. [Wikipedia]