SO WHAT'S BEHIND A SONG? A man comes to America, writes a poem and falls in love ... Do You Hear What I Hear?

So, what’s behind a song?  A man comes to America, writes a poem and falls in love with a musician.

    

Always fascinated by the person behind the 

writing.                                     

                                               

               

   Noël Regnei                                        

  

                                    

                                           Noël Regnei  

                       The Man Behind The Song, Do You Hear What I Hear

                   

                A man falls in love with a woman who writes music and he….

  Noël Regnei was born in Strasbourg, Alsac, France. He was drafted into the Nazi army despite being a Frenchman. As an Alsatian, he spoke the German dialect, Alsatian, as fluently as he did French.

           

           It is told that he soon deserted, joined a group of French Resistance fighters, and became a double agent for the French. He led a group of Nazis into an ambush, was shot in the arm, but survived.

Already reading this history I’m fascinated! This man loved poetry and music and he wanted to write it. Here are amazing facts about him:

     Noël Regnei came to the United States after World War II and wandered into New York’s Beverly Hotel. There, in a luxurious dining room, he saw a beautiful woman playing music on the piano.

      

          He was smitten by her, Gloria Shayne, and though he spoke little English he managed to woo her well. Within one month they were married.

    

           He fought depression, brought on by flashbacks to his own days as a Nazi soldier, and then as a resistance fighter. He wanted to write something that would bring him peace of mind. He hated war and the devastation it brings.

    

    He was inspired to write a poem about the first Christmas, recalling his own memories of sheep walking through beautiful fields in his native France. 

       He asked his wife, Gloria, to write the music for it.

      The couple took the song to the Regent Publishing Company, owned by the brothers of the big band leader, Benny Goodman.

       Regent heard it and right away contacted Harry Simeone, who had scored a huge success with Little Drummer Boy. The Harry Simeone Chorale recorded the touching work.

So how did our nation respond to this song?

Could this carol’s combination of words and music powerfully voice the nation’s desire for its prayers to be answered?

Newspapers stories of that time wrote that drivers hearing it for the first 

time on the radio pulled their cars off the road to listen.

And which version of the song touched the writers of this song the most?

Gloria Shayne said it was Robert Goulet’s version: “When Robert Goulet came to the line, ‘Pray for peace people everywhere,’ he almost shouted those words out. It was so powerful.”

Noël Regney went on to write other songs including, Rain, Rain, Go Away, Sweet Little Darlin’ and What’s The Use of Crying. He died on November 22, 2002, of complications from Pick’s disease.

                                                                             

Information from the book, Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, by Ace Collins. And Wikipedia.                                                   

                                                                      

Do You Hear What I Hear?

             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

             Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
             do you hear what I hear
             Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
             do you hear what I hear
             A song, a song, high above the trees
             With a voice as big as the sea
             With a voice as big as the sea

            Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
            do you know what I know
            In your palace warm, mighty king,
            do you know what I know
            A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
            Let us bring Him silver and gold
            Let us bring Him silver and gold
            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