Away in a manger

with
ST. KILDA
MUELLER
CRADLE SONG

I. Origins & Development

The first known appearance of this carol in print was in a newspaper called the Protestant Churchman, which circulated in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, given 24 December 1868 in “A Christmas Story. Founded on Fact” (Fig. 1a), a pseudo-fictional story by “S.H.M” about a family of Lancasters who were celebrating Christmas when they were visited by a pastor, Mr. Jones. Eight lines of the carol were given near the beginning of the story, quoted as though they were not new and could have been familiar to readers. Here, the carol began “The stars from the deep sky,” etc., with “Away in a manger” following at line 5. Given the context of how the carol was introduced, it is possible the author of the story intentionally inverted the lines to fit the flow of thought.

After 1868, the carol went dormant until the early 1880s. The year 1883 marked the 400th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther (1483–1546), an event that would have raised interest in his life and works, including his hymns. The song “Away in a manger” seems to have been resurrected for the occasion and misleadingly attributed to Luther himself, even though this song is not to be found in any of Luther’s hymn collections, nor it is known to have existed in any form in the German language prior to its appearance in English.

The first known appearance of the song in print was in a newspaper, The Congregationalist (Boston, MA), on 4 January 1882, p. 6, headed “Luther’s Cradle Song” (Fig. 1). It appeared also in Sailor’s Magazine and Seamen’s Friend (New York), vol. 55, no. 11 (Nov. 1883), p. 351; Cottage Hearth (Boston), vol. 10, no. 2 (Feb. 1884), p. 59; and a Universalist publication, The Myrtle, vol. 34, no. 1 (3 May 1884), p. 6. These early printings contained two stanzas, mostly similar to the ones still in common use, except the second one ended, “and stay by my crib watching my lullaby.” In The Myrtle, the editors recommended the tune “Home sweet home” by H.R. Bishop & J.H. Payne (1823).

The first appearance of this song in a hymnal or songbook was in an Evangelical Lutheran collection, Little Children’s Book for Schools and Families (Philadelphia: J.C. File, 1885 | Fig. 2). This collection used the same text as in Figure 1, but the editors were careful not to repeat the attribution to Luther. The tune, ST. KILDA by J.E. Clark, has not endured.

The most commonly printed tune for this carol was published two years later in Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses (New York: J. Church Co., 1887 | Fig. 3) by James R. Murray (1841–1905). Murray’s version uses the same two stanzas as the previous editions, except he changed the last line to the more awkward phrasing, “And stay my cradle to watch lullaby.” Murray repeated the claims given in The Myrtle, both to Luther and to German mothers. This tune was later dubbed MUELLER after it started to appear in 20th century collections inexplicably attributed to Carl Müller, and it is sometimes also known as AWAY IN A MANGER. Murray continued to develop his tune in other collections. The following year, he used it in Royal Praise for the Sunday School (1888 | Hymnary.org) with a four-part harmonization, and he extended the tune by adding another musical phrase over a repeat of the last line of the text.

The third stanza, “Be near me, Lord Jesus,” first appeared in Gabriel's Vineyard Songs (Louisville: Guide Printing and Publishing Co., 1892 | Fig. 4), compiled by Charles H. Gabriel (1856–1932). Gabriel reused the text as given by Murray and added the third stanza without attribution. The musical attribution to “C.” is curious; Gabriel’s own work throughout this book was consistently labeled either “C.H.G.” or “Chas. H. Gabriel.” Nonetheless, this tune appeared a few years later in Edwin Excell’s Make His Praise Glorious (1900), No. 156 (Hymnary.org) with an added refrain and a notice of “Copyright 1896 Chas. H. Gabriel. E.O. Excell, owner” and the tune attributed to Gabriel. Gabriel wrote another tune for his collection Little Branches (Chicago: Meyer & Brother, 1893), No. 21 (Hymnary.org).

The added third stanza is sometimes erroneously attributed to John T. MacFarland on the basis of a story printed in Guy McCutchan’s Our Hymnody: A Manual of the Methodist Hymnal (1937), p. 436:

Bishop William F. Anderson has given the story of the writing of the third stanza:

When I was Secretary of the Board of Education, 1904–08, I wanted to use “Away in a manger,” which I found with the designation “Martin Luther's Cradle Song,” in the Children’s Day program one year. It had but two stanzas, 1 and 2. Dr. John T. McFarland, then Secretary of our Board of Sunday Schools, was my near neighbor in his office at 150 Fifth Avenue (New York). I asked him to write a third stanza. He went to his office and within an hour brought me the third stanza beginning, “Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay.” I used it, which was the first time it was ever published. I am pleased to see that it is now being used very widely. The honor of it belongs to that great and good man, Dr. John T. McFarland.

The story is problematic on two levels: (1) Anderson was incorrect in asserting he was responsible for publishing the third stanza for the first time, and (2) he assumed McFarland had written it himself. McCutchan was evidently unaware of the discrepancy.

The other most common tune in circulation is CRADLE SONG by William Kirkpatrick (1838–1921), from Around the World with Christmas (NY: Hunt & Eaton, 1895 | Fig. 5). Kirkpatrick’s version is also notable for changing the end of the second stanza to read “And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.”

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
5 December 2018
rev. 28 December 2023
with special thanks to David W. Music.

Related Resources:

Richard S. Hill, “Not so far away in a manger: Forty one settings of an American carol,” Music Library Association, Notes, Second Series, vol. III, no. 1 (December 1945). 

William J. Reynolds, “A hymn erroneously credited to Martin Luther,” Songs of Glory (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), pp. 32–33.

Hugh Keyte & Andrew Parrott, “Away in a manger,” New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford: University Press, 1992), pp. 359–361.

Paul A. Richardson, “Away in a manger,” Handbook to the Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Convention Press, 1992), p. 97.

Fred L. Precht, “Away in a manger,” Lutheran Worship Hymnal Companion (St. Louis: Concordia, 1992), p. 73.

Bert Polman, “Away in a manger,” Psalter Hymnal Handbook (Grand Rapids: CRC, 1998), pp. 501–503.

Carl P. Daw Jr. “Away in a manger,” Glory to God: A Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016), pp. 115–117.

Brett Nelson, “Away in a manger,” Latter-Day Saint Hymnology (29 Dec. 2019):
https://ldshymnology.wordpress.com/2019/12/29/away-in-a-manger/

“Away in a manger,” Hymns and Carols of Christmas:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/away_in_a_manger.htm

“Away in a manger,” Hymnary.org:
https://hymnary.org/text/away_in_a_manger_no_crib_for_a_bed