Do You Hear What I Hear?
John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic president, took office in 1961 and was seen as a would-be political savior by many.
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
-John F Kennedy
Then, in 1962 the Cuban missile crisis put Kennedy’s administration’s high ideals to the test as the country teetered on the brink of nuclear war.
“We were eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked.”
-Dean Rusk, US Secretary
“It was a perfectly beautiful night, as fall nights are in Washington. I walked out of the Oval Office, and as I walked out, I thought I might never live to see another Saturday night.”
-Robert McNamara, US Secretary of Defense
Gloria Shayne Baker, a neighbor to Joseph and Rose Kennedy and their children, including JFK., at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, lived in New York City with her then-husband, a songwriting partner, Noel Regney. They had been asked to write a Christmas song and struggled to feel any Christmas spirit during a time of such intense worry.
“In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated. En route to my home, I saw two mothers with their babies in strollers. The little angels were looking at each other and smiling. All of a sudden, my mood was extraordinary.”
– Noel Regency
The little children inspired Noel, which reminded him of newborn lambs. The husband-wife songwriting team created a Christmas song that invokes a message of peace to counter the fear that plagued the nation and the world. They composed a modern song that feels like an old folk tune. Almost as if they discovered an unknown song from centuries before.
Said the night wind to the little lamb
Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite
In an interview later in life, Gloria states that neither she nor her husband could sing the song all the way through without becoming emotional, “Our little song broke us up.” she recalled.
The song “Do you Hear What I Hear” sold more than a quarter-million copies as part of a Christmas compilation performed by The Harry Simone Chorale. But it wasn’t until the recording by the golden tones of Mr. Christmas himself, Bing Crosby, that the song thrust itself into the Christmas Carol hall of fame.
The song’s message resonates with those who lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 as well as our day.
The song tells a version of the Christmas Story, but not precisely the familiar one from scripture. The king in the song does not react the same way as King Herod, who saw the birth of Christ as a threat. This other king, the song speaks of, carries forth the Angels’ message to the Shepherds of peace on earth by saying, “Pray for peace, people, everywhere.”
In a 2020 worldwide address across the internet, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints did just what the song asks when he prayed:
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“We thank Thee for the leaders of nations and others who strive to lift us. We pray for relief from political strife. Wilt Thou bless us with a healing spirit that unites us despite our differences.
Wilt Thou also help us repent from selfishness, unkindness, pride, and prejudice of any kind, so that we can better serve and love one another as brothers and sisters, and as Thy grateful children.”
-Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
When God sent his angel to announce the birth of His Son to the Shepherds, the angel said very little. God’s messenger first calmed their fears and told them he had “good tidings of great joy.” After which he told them of the birth and explained how to find the Child, a heavenly choir proclaimed a statement that represents the entire purpose of Christ’s earthly ministry and beyond when the sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”
Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light
