O Little Town of Bethlehem.

An Inspired Carol by Phillips Brooks and Lewis H. Redner

Nov 22, 2008
Melissa Howard

Bethlehem - Pieter Bruegel the Elder

O Little Town of Bethlehem is a carol of inspiration with words by Phillips Brooks and music by Lewis Redner.

When Phillips Brooks wrote the Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem he was writing under the inspiration of a life-changing event from three years earlier. Lewis H. Redner wrote the tune while under the inspiration of last-minute desperation.

The Lyricist Phillips Brooks

Phillips Brooks was an Episcopalian minister who preached in Philadelphia and Boston. He was a ninth generation descendent of the Puritans and was raised a Bostonian. A large man, at six foot six inches tall and carrying three hundred pounds, his immense presence and rapid delivery style earned him a reputation as one of America’s greatest preachers.

While he was serving at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, Phillips had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and on December 24, 1865 attended a Christmas Eve Service at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The service lasted for five hours and was full of songs of praise to God. Brooks was moved by the opportunity to celebrate with other Christians so near the location of Jesus’ birth.

Three years later, at the age of 33, Phillips decided to compose an original song for the children of his church to sing for the annual Christmas program. The thrilling experience in Bethlehem inspired him to write a five-stanza hymn. He gave the lyrics to his organist and asked him to compose a tune, promising to name the melody St. Lewis if he liked it.

The Organist Lewis Redner

The organist, Lewis Redner, was uninspired and struggled to compose a melody. On the night before the program, he woke with the music flooding his soul. He wrote the tune down and then returned to bed. Brooks liked the tune and kept his promise to name it after Redner. However, he changed the spelling to St. Louis to avoid embarrassing the author of the melody.

The First Performance of O Little Town of Bethlehem

The first performance of O Little Town of Bethlehem occurred the next day. Thirty six children accompanied by six Sunday School teachers premiered the well-loved children’s carol to the world.

The Forgotten Stanza

Phillips wrote five stanzas to the hymn but often the fourth stanza is absent in songbooks. The fourth stanza reads: “Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed Child, / Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild; / Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door; / The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.”