Letra: F.E. Weatherly; Música: Stephen Adams
Frederic Edward Weatherly (1848-1929), abogado y autor británico, escribió la letra de al menos 3.000 canciones populares, entre las más conocidas se encuentran la balada sentimental "Danny Boy" (que se canta con la melodía "Londonderry Air"), el tema religioso "The Holy City" y la bélica "Roses of Picardy".
Letra:
It was the eve of Christmas,
The snow lay deep and white,
I sat beside my window,
and look´d into the night,
I heard the church bells ringing,
I saw the bright stars shine,
And childhood came again to me,
With all its dreams divine.
Then, as I list´ned to the bells,
And watch´d the skies afar,
Out of the East majestical
There rose one radiant star,
And ev´ry other star grew pale
Before that heav´nly glow,
It seem´d to bid me follow,
And I could not choose but go.
It seem´d to bid me follow,
And I could not choose but go.
From street to street it led me,
by many a mansion fair,
It shone thro´dingy casement on
many a garret bare;
From highway on to highway,
thro´ alleys dark and cold,
And where it shone the darkness
was flooded all with gold.
Sad hearts forgot their sorrow,
Rough hearts grew soft and mild,
And weary little children turn´d
in their sleep and smil´d;
While many a homeless wanderer
uplifted patient eyes
Seeming to see a home at last
beyond those starry skies.
Seeming to see a home at last
beyond those starry skies.
And then methought earth faded,
I rose as borne on wings,
Beyond the waste of ruined lives,
the press of human things;
Above the toil and shadow,
Above the want and woe,
My old self and its darkness
seem´d left on earth below,
And onward upward shone the star,
until it seem´d to me,
It flash´d upon the golden gate,
And o´er the crystal sea;
And then the gates roll´d backward,
I stood where Angels trod;
It was the star, the star of Bethlehem
had led me up to God,
The star, the star,
had led me up to God.
Versiones destacadas:
👉🏽 Columbia 5888. Reed Miller (1916)
👉🏽 Victor 31573. Harry Macdonough (1906)
👉🏽 Imperial 45336. Frank C. Stanley (1906)
👉🏽 Imperial 45414. Tom Child (1906-07)
👉🏽 Edison 23145. Hardy Williamson (1914)
👉🏽 Edison 80360. Vernon Dalhart (1917)