13.5.13.5.13.5.5 -- a Spiritual
Who's That Little Baby Sleepin'?
[ Bass voices: Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... ]
1. Who’s that little baby sleepin’ on a bed of hay,
Angels holy watch a-keepin’ till the break of day?
That small babe is God’s great Mercy on a world so wild,
That small babe is God’s great Mercy, in a little child,
In a little child.
Who's That Little Baby Sleepin'?
[ Bass voices: Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... ]
1. Who’s that little baby sleepin’ on a bed of hay,
Angels holy watch a-keepin’ till the break of day?
That small babe is God’s great Mercy on a world so wild,
That small babe is God’s great Mercy, in a little child,
In a little child.
[ Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... ]
2. Who’s that tiny child a-layin’ in a stable dim,
Shepherds all a-praisin’, prayin’, as they worship Him?
That small child is Light and Wisdom, in a manger curled,
That small child is Light and Wisdom, for a dark, dark world,
For a dark, dark world.
[ Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... ]
3. Who’s that helpless infant wakin’ with a hunger cry?
See! the dawn of Day a-breakin’ ‘cross the glory sky!
That small one is Love made human, tho’ an infant weak;
That small one is Love made human— humbly shall we seek,
Humbly shall we seek.
[ Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... ]
[ Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... Who’s that little baby sleepin’?... ]
© 2010 by Stanley K. Brubaker / Brooksong LLC
My deep appreciation to Miriam I. Fisher [now—congratulations!— Mrs. Daryl E. Reinford] for lending her voice to my rough demo of this song. Any recording and timing mistakes are my own— not hers.
______________________________________________________
HymnCraft 101 (Studies and Writing Tips)
WHY A ‘SPIRITUAL’ ?
I was lying in bed at 5:30 one late-Spring morning, thinking it would be enjoyable to make into a CD album, quote, “a long arrangement of 10-12 of my ‘shepherd’ or ‘Christmas’ songs, and thought a Spiritual would add a lot to the mix, and instantly the first line came.”
So say my tiny notes that I scribbled at the bottom of the original manuscript, on June 17, 2010. The idea comes... and one hour later (at 6:30 am) the melody and its three simple verses are complete, except for final editing.
And I think, wouldn’t it be nice if it were always so easy? God inspires... and we just write it down. [I did have to get out of bed].
And maybe YOU are thinking, “Humph! No wonder it’s such a simple, childish song! You didn’t spend enough time on it.”
Seriously, if we will just take the trouble to break down and analyze the features of those songs that most forcefully speak to our hearts and spirits, and most brightly illuminate our minds, we will be laying a good foundation for our hymn-writing.
And if, above all that, we sing “unto the Lord” the songs we sing— and if we pray, and hunger, and thirst after HIS well-won glory— why then, why would He NOT occasionally give us inspiration that suddenly and gloriously overshadows all of our studyings and re-writings and sawings and chiselings and re-gluings, as if to say, “Here it is. It’s My gift to you— so pass it on!”
And it is in times like those that we bow our heads and say quietly— in humility and honesty, and sometimes with tears-- “I’m not the one who wrote that!” ...because we know what a small part of it was really ours.
PARALLELISM:
Each of the three, simple, five-line verses (it’s a 13.13.13.13. 5 meter— or an 8.5. 8.5. 8.5. 8.5. 5 if you count all the rhymes— starts out with a question: Who IS that...?, instantly drawing the reader/ listener/ singer into the drama.
The words immediately following— little baby... tiny child... and helpless infant— are also parallel.
Each of the three Questions receives its Answer within its own verse, and also with parallelity: “That small _____ is ____ ____ ____...”
The first 8 syllables of Line 3 in each verse repeat to make Line 4, and the last 5 syllables make an Echo in Line 5... and the under-beat in the bass keeps repeating “Who’s that little baby sleepin’?” [ Hmmm... are we getting dangerously close to a “7-11 song”— seven words repeated eleven times? ]
CONTRAST:
A little, tiny, helpless child surrounded by mighty angels and rough shepherds, receiving their praisin’, prayin’ worship.
A wild world... a dim stable... a dark, dark world... receiving Mercy, Light, Wisdom, and Love through this Creator-breathed Innocence!
THE MELODY:
The tune may easily make or break the popularity— and therefore the multiplied usefulness— of your song. The tune for this one is a catchy, easily-learned and easily-remembered song. If you listen to the MP3 rough demo file, you’ll soon have it.
‘Mid shepherds and angels, let us worship Him.
— Stan Brubaker
HymnCraft 101 (Studies and Writing Tips)
WHY A ‘SPIRITUAL’ ?
I was lying in bed at 5:30 one late-Spring morning, thinking it would be enjoyable to make into a CD album, quote, “a long arrangement of 10-12 of my ‘shepherd’ or ‘Christmas’ songs, and thought a Spiritual would add a lot to the mix, and instantly the first line came.”
So say my tiny notes that I scribbled at the bottom of the original manuscript, on June 17, 2010. The idea comes... and one hour later (at 6:30 am) the melody and its three simple verses are complete, except for final editing.
And I think, wouldn’t it be nice if it were always so easy? God inspires... and we just write it down. [I did have to get out of bed].
And maybe YOU are thinking, “Humph! No wonder it’s such a simple, childish song! You didn’t spend enough time on it.”
Seriously, if we will just take the trouble to break down and analyze the features of those songs that most forcefully speak to our hearts and spirits, and most brightly illuminate our minds, we will be laying a good foundation for our hymn-writing.
And if, above all that, we sing “unto the Lord” the songs we sing— and if we pray, and hunger, and thirst after HIS well-won glory— why then, why would He NOT occasionally give us inspiration that suddenly and gloriously overshadows all of our studyings and re-writings and sawings and chiselings and re-gluings, as if to say, “Here it is. It’s My gift to you— so pass it on!”
And it is in times like those that we bow our heads and say quietly— in humility and honesty, and sometimes with tears-- “I’m not the one who wrote that!” ...because we know what a small part of it was really ours.
PARALLELISM:
Each of the three, simple, five-line verses (it’s a 13.13.13.13. 5 meter— or an 8.5. 8.5. 8.5. 8.5. 5 if you count all the rhymes— starts out with a question: Who IS that...?, instantly drawing the reader/ listener/ singer into the drama.
The words immediately following— little baby... tiny child... and helpless infant— are also parallel.
Each of the three Questions receives its Answer within its own verse, and also with parallelity: “That small _____ is ____ ____ ____...”
The first 8 syllables of Line 3 in each verse repeat to make Line 4, and the last 5 syllables make an Echo in Line 5... and the under-beat in the bass keeps repeating “Who’s that little baby sleepin’?” [ Hmmm... are we getting dangerously close to a “7-11 song”— seven words repeated eleven times? ]
CONTRAST:
A little, tiny, helpless child surrounded by mighty angels and rough shepherds, receiving their praisin’, prayin’ worship.
A wild world... a dim stable... a dark, dark world... receiving Mercy, Light, Wisdom, and Love through this Creator-breathed Innocence!
THE MELODY:
The tune may easily make or break the popularity— and therefore the multiplied usefulness— of your song. The tune for this one is a catchy, easily-learned and easily-remembered song. If you listen to the MP3 rough demo file, you’ll soon have it.
‘Mid shepherds and angels, let us worship Him.
— Stan Brubaker
RSS Feed