Away in a Manger

"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols; a 1996 Gallup Poll ranked it joint second. Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin. The two most common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James Ramsey Murray (1887).

Words

The popularity of the carol has led to many variants in the words, which are discussed in detail below. The following are taken from Kirkpatrick (1895):

Variants

Almost every line in the carol has recorded variants. The most significant include the following:

Verse 1, line 1: The earliest sources have "no crib for his bed". "No crib for a bed" is found in Murray (1887).

Verse 1, line 2: The earliest sources have "lay down his sweet head." "Laid" is first found in "Little Children's Book" (1885) – see lie/lay distinction.

Verse 1, line 2: Some sources, from as early as 1900, have "his wee head" instead of "his sweet head."

Verse 1, line 3: The earliest sources have "[t]he stars in the sky looked down where he lay", leading to this line having only ten syllables as opposed to the eleven of the other lines of the verse (unless "looked" is pronounced as two syllables, as is done in some musical settings).