Away in a Manger

Representative Text

1 Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head;
the stars in the heavens looked down where He lay,
the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.

2 The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,
but little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
and stay by my side until morning is nigh.

3 Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay
close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
and fit us for heaven, to live with Thee there.


Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #230

Author (attributed to): Martin Luther

Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody. i. Hymn Books. 1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German h… Go to person page >

Author (st. 1-2): Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

Author (v. 3, attr.): John T. McFarland

(no biographical information available about John T. McFarland.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
Title: Away in a Manger
Author (st. 1-2): Anonymous (1885)
Author (v. 3, attr.): John T. McFarland (1892)
Author (attributed to): Martin Luther
Meter: 11.11.11.11
Source: Traditional carol
Language: English
Notes: Spanish translations: See "Al pobre pesebre del Niño Jesús" by Effie Chastain de Naylor; "Allá en el pesebre, do nace Jesús by George Paul Simmonds; Swahili translation: See "Kawadia siku za kuzaliwa" by M. G. Mtusoli; Esperanto translation: See "En bova fojntrogo anstataŭ litet’" by Ellen Gregory.
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Luke 2:4-7

Stanzas 1 and 2 of this anonymous children's hymn were first published in the Lutheran compilation Little Children's Book for Schools and Families (Philadelphia, 1885). Charles H. Gabriel (PHH 24) published the text with an additional third stanza, also anonymously written in his Vineyard Songs (1892).

Though obviously a children's hymn, "Away in a Manger" is a charming favorite of many people, regardless of age. When people object to the "no crying" phrase in stanza 2, seeing it as a denial of Christ's humanity, they've really missed the childlike nature of this hymn. "Away in a Manger" has a lullaby character in stanzas 1 and 2; stanza 3 is an evening bedtime prayer.

Liturgical Use:
Christmas season, perhaps best on Christmas Eve or on a similar evening worship service.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune

MUELLER (Murray)

With the original two-stanza text, AWAY IN A MANGER was first published in James R. Murray's Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses (1887) and initialed “J. R. M.” Murray (b. Andover, MA, 1841; d. Cincinnati, OH, 1905) compiled the songbook and is now thought to be the tune's composer. However,…

Go to tune page >


CRADLE SONG (Kirkpatrick)


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #103
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #327
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #348
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #349
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
The United Methodist Hymnal #217
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #203
Worship and Rejoice #205
With Heart and Voice: songs for all God's children #80
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
With Heart and Voice: songs for all God's children #81
  • Full Score (PDF, XML)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)

Instances

Instances (401 - 500 of 541)

The Concordia Hymnal. Rev. #d28

The Covenant Hymnal, authorized by the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America #d23

The Covenant Hymnal #164

The Covenant Hymnal #165

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #327

The Evangel #d15

The Evangelical Church School Hymnal #d17

Page Scan

The Evangelical Hymnal #81

The Family Hymnal #39

The Friends' Hymnal #d50

The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada #419

The Hymnal #d30

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal #126

The Hymnal #149

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal 1982 #101

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal and Order of Service #637

Text

The Hymnal and Order of Service #637

Text

The Hymnal for Boys and Girls #131

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #157

Text

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #158

The Hymnal for Youth #75

The Hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod. Text ed. #d42

The Hymnal of the Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America #524

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal of The Evangelical United Brethren Church #435

The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #43

The Hymnal of the United Church of Christ #93

The Hymnal #265

The Hymnal #109

The Hymnary for use in Baptist churches #598

The Hymnary of the United Church of Canada #598

Text

The Hymnbook #157

Text

The Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook #309a

Text

The Irish Presbyterian Hymnbook #309b

The Joy of Christmas #14

Page Scan

The Junior Hymnal #27

The Junior Hymnal and Suggested Orders of Worship #d23

Page Scan

The Junior Hymnal, Containing Sunday School and Luther League Liturgy and Hymns for the Sunday School #99

Page Scan

The King's Praises #42

Page Scan

The Little Golden Book of Hymns #13

The Little Golden Book of Hymns #22

The Mennonite Hymnal #472

The Methodist Hymn-Book with Tunes #860

The Methodist Hymnal #d45

The Methodist Hymnal #434

Page Scan

The Methodist Sunday School Hymnal #70

Page Scan

The Mission Hymnal. (Enlarged Edition) #208

The New Alphabetical Hymnal #d36

The New Broadman Hymnal #80

Page Scan

The New Canadian Hymnal #423

Page Scan

The New Canadian Hymnal #423

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The New Century Hymnal #124

The New Church Hymnal #d34

Text

The New Church Hymnal #552

Page Scan

The New Cokesbury Hymnal #278

TextPage Scan

The New English Hymnal #22

Page Scan

The New Make Christ King #127

The New National Baptist Hymnal #57

TextPage Scan

The New National Baptist Hymnal (21st Century Edition) #96

TextPage Scan

The New Praiseworthy #170

The Northfield Hymnal #4 #d22

Page Scan

The Parish School Hymnal #40

The Praise Hymnal #269

TextPage Scan

The Presbyterian Hymnal #24

Text

The Presbyterian Hymnal #25

Page Scan

The Primary and Junior Hymnal #29

The Primary Hymn Book, Hymns and Songs for Little Children #d6

The Primary Hymnal #d9

The Primary Song book #d4

The Primary Sunday School Hymnal #d10

The Saints' Hymnal #d26

The Singing Choir #d12

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #d56

Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #77

Page Scan

The Songs of Zion #248

Page Scan

The Sunday School Hymnal #269

Page Scan

The Sunday School Hymnal #269

Page Scan

The Sunday School Hymnary #15

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The United Methodist Hymnal #217

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement #30

Page Scan

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement #31

Page Scan

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement #32

Text

The United Methodist Hymnal Music Supplement II #20

Page Scan

The World Evangel #165

Page Scan

The World Revival Songs and Hymns #157

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The Worshiping Church #147

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

The Worshiping Church #149

The Youth Hymnary #d17

TextAudio

Timeless Truths #374

To Thee We Sing #d1

Text

Together in Song #318

TextPage Scan

Total Praise #203

Text

Total Praise #204

Treasure Songs for Schools and Churches #d18

TextPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal #641

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #204

TextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Trinity Hymnal (Rev. ed.) #205

Unity Song Selections #286

Pages

Exclude 386 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us