Anonymous – Away In A Manger

Happy Christmas!

The author of Away In A Manger is elusive.  Though some believe that Protestant reformer Martin Luthor penned it, the consensus is that Martin Luthor didn’t write it.

This song’s earliest publication can be found in the “Childrens’ Corner” section of The Christian Cynosure (1882).  According to this image, the song is titled Luther’s Cradle Song, and includes the following description:

The following hymn, composed by Martin Luther for his children, is still sung by many of the German mothers to their little ones.

Other publications such as The Sailors’ Magazine and Seamen’s Friend, Little Pilgrim Songs, and The Myrtle contain similar commentary and lyrics.

In later renditions, these lyrics have been paired both with Cradle Song by William J. Kirkpatrick and Mueller by James R. Murray.  However, I’ve only ever heard it with the latter tune.

The third Stanza, which begins “Be near me, Lord Jesus”, is not found in the earliest copies.  It shows up in Gabriel’s Vineyard Songs (1892), which also attributes this song to Luthor.  I will not include this Stanza in my review.  However, check out this blog post by Jeffrey Kranz for his Biblical examination of Verse 3.

Side Note: This song contains many early variants, making it difficult to criticize erroneous lyrics.  Since The Christian Cynosure‘s version is the earliest, I’ll review these lyrics and allow the chips to fall where they may, though I will include alternative lyrics in other variants that fix errors I find.  Since this song contains many variants, feel free to interpret my scoring with a grain of salt.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Almost the entire song describes the scene where Jesus is laid in a manger with descriptions that are reasonable assumptions, but is neither found in the Bible nor affect the song’s overall message.  Details include:

• The stars were unimpeded by clouds, that they could “look down” upon Jesus.
• Jesus’ manger was filled with hay.
• There were noisy cattle present.
• The noisy cattle woke Jesus.
• Jesus didn’t cry when woken by the cattle (section 2 addresses heretical concerns).

As for the word “away”, this could mean that Jesus was distant (pointing to His movement from heaven) or placed securely in the manger.  It is not immediately clear which interpretation is correct.

The end of Stanza 2 suddenly shifts from the manger to baby me.  Though it acknowledges that Jesus is “up in the sky”, this is incorrect.  He is in the third heaven, not the first.  However, the request to “stay by my crib” describes Jesus’ omnipresence.

Score: 8/10

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

Only the first few lines of Stanza 1 and the last line of Stanza 2 are supported Biblically.  Almost all of the song is poetic license that, though perhaps reasonable, is not found in Scripture.  The third line of Stanza 2 is incorrect when it says that Jesus looks from the sky.  He is way higher than that!

This song is public domain.

[Stanza 1]

Away in a manger, No crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.

The word “away” could mean that Jesus was away from His Heavenly throne (Philippians 2:7) or that Jesus was securely placed in the manger.  It works either way, but it could be clearer.

The capitalization of “his” is inconsistent with later lyrics.  It should be “His”.  I won’t dock points for this, but for those who print these lyrics or display them on the screen, please ensure that it’s capitalized!

According to Luke 2:7 and Luke 2:12, Jesus was placed in a manger.

The stars in the sky Looked down where He lay

Scripture doesn’t tell us the weather conditions during Jesus’ birth.  We assume that it was a clear night sky because there’s no mention of alternative weather.  Normal weather is a clear night sky.  Since it’s reasonable, I don’t deduct points.

While the Magi were led by a star in Matthew 2, these events take place two years after Jesus was born, according to Matthew 2:16.

The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.

Hay isn’t mentioned in Scripture.  However, if I were in Mary’s shoes, I would have put hay in the manger to soften it.  However, Jesus was most likely not laying in the hay, but on top of it.  Thus, some alternative lyrics replace “in” with “on”.

[Stanza 2]

The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes,

There’s no Scripture that mentions cattle in the stable where Jesus was.  If they were there, lowing (or vocal cattle noises) would have probably woken Christ.

But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.

Some are concerned that Jesus’ apparent lack of crying points to docetism, a heretical view that claims Jesus appeared to be human, but wasn’t fully human.  However, there’s also no Scripture that mentions Jesus’ crying (or lack thereof) after waking from cattle.  While some babies just don’t cry after they are woken up, the Bible is silent on this point.

I love thee, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky,

This is incorrect.  He is not looking down from the sky, but above it.  Acts 1:9-12 tells us that Christ ascended above the clouds.  According to Matthew 22:44, Acts 2:33, Acts 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 8:1, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 3:22, and Revelation 3:21, He is seated at the right hand of the Father.  Some alternative lyrics replace “the sky” with “on high”, which is substantially better.

And stay by my crib Watching my lullaby

This points to Jesus’ omnipresence (Hebrews 4:13).

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will know, based on the song’s opening lines, that the author describes Jesus’ manger scene.  It explicitly mentions Jesus and the manger.  Unbelievers will probably not know that many of this song’s details are not in the Bible, not that it matter that much.  However, they probably will think that Jesus looks down from the sky given the various pop culture references to heaven within earth’s atmosphere.  This belief will likely persist even if the lyric is changed to “oh high”.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus that He is acknowledged and described in this song, though with reasonable and Biblically unsupported details, and that He watches over babies.  However, the bit about Him looking from the sky is unbiblical, veiling His glory.

Score: 8/10

Closing Comments

Anonymous’ Away In A Manger was difficult to review.  Much of the details described in this song are not found in the Bible, even if they are reasonable assumptions.  The only parts that are directly Biblical are that Jesus was laid in a manger, and that He watches over infants, which brings Him glory.  The lyric that states Jesus watches from the sky is Biblically fallacious, though replaced in some versions as “on high”, rectifying it.  While some think that Jesus’ lack of crying points to docetism, it seems a stretch to me given that some babies don’t cry when woken.  Unbelievers will think it’s a Christmas song that describes Jesus, though likely unaware of the issues that I raised.

If you are to sing this one at all, consider replacing “in the hay” with “on the hay” and “from the sky” with “from on high”.  Had these been the earliest lyrics, I would have scored this song higher.  Even with these replacements, I can’t recommend it for corporate worship.  Chiefly, because most of it is fluff.  While it could be enjoyed at home, I’m not comfortable recommending it for other Christmas-y events (caroling, pageants, etc.).

Side Note: One question that I anticipate is, “How does Stanza 3 affect your review?”  Great question!  First, I would have likely increased the song’s score to at least an 8.  Stanza 3 is highly Biblical as it asks (again) for Jesus to be near, and our request to be taken up to heaven to be with Jesus.  I may have rated corporate worship as “perhaps” because Stanza 3 proclaims to Jesus His value and worth.  However, even if Stanza 3 is included, why use this one when there are better Christmas songs out in the wild?

Final Score: 7/10

Artist Info

Track: Away In A Manger (listen to Nat King Cole’s version of this song)

Artist: Anonymous

Album: N/A

Genre: Christmas, Hymn

Release Year: 1882 (earliest publication)

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.