# O Little Town Of Bethelehem lyrics not as I thought they were - am I going insane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370 "2006-12-23T19:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/21 "2006-12-29T14:38:12Z")
American. I’ve only ever heard the first version, with “For Christ is born of Mary” kicking off the verse. It’s sung to the _St. Louis_ tune. It always throws me off to hear the _Forest Green_ tune. Thanks for the interesting link, **Antonious Block**. Although **O Little Town** is far from my favorite carol, it is pretty prominent here in the US. I personally prefer such carols as **Lo, how a rose** , **O Holy Night** , or **Hark, the Herald**. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/22 "2006-12-29T16:49:26Z")
[QUOTE=jbarro] In my church’s (United Church of Canada) new hymnal, the last line is “And peace to all on earth”. They’ve made all the pronouns gender neutral, in every hymn. It’s amusing to listen to half the congregation (singing from their memories) sing “men” while those reading sing “all”. There was quite a bit of debate over the lyric changes when they were producing the new hymnals. [/QUOTE] Pretty sensible change, in this case at least, if you ask me. As a long-time married man, I can assure you that if the women aren’t at peace, the _men_ sure as hell won’t get any … ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/23 "2006-12-29T18:19:50Z")
I learned it the second way. ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/24 "2006-12-29T19:26:25Z")
I am very familiar with the second option, we used to sing it that way at mass. I believe we did both of those verses, though, the first one being the third verse. I will have to check for sure, but I am positive we always sang the second option. ---
**Author:** ![Alma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alma)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/25 "2006-12-29T19:28:20Z")
Um, I don’t know what I was thinking there, I blanked out and read two entirely different verses. We always sang the second way. Period. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/26 "2006-12-29T20:41:49Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] An important point not yet mentioned in this thread is that the hymn is generally **sung to different tunes** in the US and UK. [/QUOTE] The Brits sing “Away in a Manger” wrong, too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/27 "2006-12-29T22:26:09Z")
I always knew it the second way, too. Then suddenly about 20 years ago it changed and everyone started to sing it the first way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/28 "2006-12-29T22:53:00Z")
When I was little and we sang “We Three Kings,” I used to think there was a country called “Orientar.” I also pictured St. Mary as really fat. (“Round yon virgin . . .”) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/29 "2006-12-30T15:37:23Z")
EWWWW. Just listened to the “Forest Green” melody. That takes away ALL the haunting sound of the original version, which was WRITTEN IN FREAKING AMERICA, SO SING IT RIGHT, DAMMIT! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/30 "2006-12-30T16:23:41Z")
[QUOTE=Misnomer] The Brits sing “Away in a Manger” wrong, too. 😉 [/QUOTE] Yeah. And you won’t **believe** the words they use for “My Country 'Tis of Thee”!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/31 "2006-12-30T17:59:20Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] Yeah. And you won’t **believe** the words they use for “My Country 'Tis of Thee”!! 😃 [/QUOTE] Ok, now I have to tell this story: When Ronald Reagan died, I was watching on TV when his casket arrived in DC. There was a military band playing all kinds of patriotic music, and at the start of one song I was completely confused: why the _hell_ were they playing “God Save the Queen”?! It seriously took me most of the song to figure it out. :smack: I blame it on the 2 years I lived in England as a kid: to this day I’ve heard “God Save the Queen” more often than I’ve heard “My Country 'Tis of Thee.” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/32 "2006-12-31T03:08:49Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] When I was little and we sang “We Three Kings,” I used to think there was a country called “Orientar.” I also pictured St. Mary as really fat. (“Round yon virgin . . .”) [/QUOTE] When I was a tad, I got the _Three Kings_ okay, but I was thrown off by the Mary bit as well. I heard it as Round, young, virgin. Well, I had no idea what virgin meant. Young . . . okay, it was mentioned a lot how young she was, and round made perfect sense – she was pregnant, wasn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/33 "2006-12-31T03:28:39Z")
A timely recollection, **Misnomer** , given that [they played it again](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=402187) today at Gerald Ford’s funeral. [QUOTE=Polycarp] Yeah. And you won’t **believe** the words they use for “My Country 'Tis of Thee”!! 😃 [/QUOTE] Contrariwise, I hear that one of those upstart Colonials has written some rather bombastic and bloodthirsty lyrics to my favorite “booze, broads, and brawls” drinking-song [To Anacreon in Heaven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven). It is inconceivable to me that his words might in time prove to be popular… ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2006, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370/34 "2006-12-31T08:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=Antonius Block] Contrariwise, I hear that one of those upstart Colonials has written some rather bombastic and bloodthirsty lyrics to my favorite “booze, broads, and brawls” drinking-song [To Anacreon in Heaven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven). It is inconceivable to me that his words might in time prove to be popular… [/QUOTE] Do you mean “sung frequently” or “well-liked”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/o-little-town-of-bethelehem-lyrics-not-as-i-thought-they-were-am-i-going-insane/385370.md?page=1)