Noel Regney, 80, Songwriter Known for "Do You Hear What I Hear," Dies
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Noel Regney, who helped write the beloved Christmas song "Do You Hear What I Hear?" died last Sunday in Brewster, N.Y. He was 80.
He wrote the seasonal standard with Gloria Shayne, then his wife, in 1962. It was recorded by Bing Crosby and Perry Como, among others, in more than 120 versions, in musical styles ranging from jazz and New Age to funk and reggae.
But Mr. Regney wrote it as a clear and plaintive plea for peace at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, in October 1962. His favorite version was Robert Goulet's. When Mr. Goulet came to the line "Pray for peace, people, everywhere," he almost shouted the words.
"I am amazed that people can think they know the song and not know it is a prayer for peace," Mr. Regney said in an interview in The New York Times in 1985. "But we are so bombarded by sound and our attention spans are so short that we now listen only to catchy beginnings."
Mr. Regney was drafted into the Nazi army despite being a Frenchman. He soon deserted and joined a group of French resistance fighters. While still with the Germans, he once intentionally led his platoon toward a group of French partisans and was shot, his stepdaughter, Patricia Spiegel, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" had its origin when Mr. Regney was asked to write the flip side of a single that was expected to become a hit, according to an interview he gave in The Ridgefield Press in Connecticut.
He wrote the lyrics, based on his vision of a newborn lamb. He handed it to his wife and asked her to write the tune, the reverse of their usual procedure. She was shopping at Bloomingdale's when she thought of the first music line.
The finished version of the song moved the two creators so much that at first they could not sing it. "It broke us up," she said in the interview with The Ridgefield Press.
Regent Publishing Company bought the song after the flip-side deal fell through. The Harry Simeon Chorale recorded it, and it sold more than 250,000 copies in a week. Bing Crosby's version in 1963 sold more than a million copies.
The couple moved to Ridgefield in 1969 and were divorced several years later. Mr. Regney later lived in South Salem, Bethel and, most recently, Danbury, all in Connecticut.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Petrie Spiegel-Regney; two sons, Matthieu, of Bethel, and Paul, of Bangkok; a daughter, Gabrielle Regney, of the Bronx; a stepdaughter, Patricia Spiegel, of Danbury; a brother and a sister who both live in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France; and two grandchildren.
Do You Hear What I Hear? Lyrics
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 the sea,
With a voice as big as the 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."
Listen to this song:
http://www.always-safe.com/do-you.html or
http://www.christmas-carols.net/carols/do-you-hear.html
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Noel Regney, who helped write the beloved Christmas song "Do You Hear What I Hear?" died last Sunday in Brewster, N.Y. He was 80.
He wrote the seasonal standard with Gloria Shayne, then his wife, in 1962. It was recorded by Bing Crosby and Perry Como, among others, in more than 120 versions, in musical styles ranging from jazz and New Age to funk and reggae.
But Mr. Regney wrote it as a clear and plaintive plea for peace at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, in October 1962. His favorite version was Robert Goulet's. When Mr. Goulet came to the line "Pray for peace, people, everywhere," he almost shouted the words.
"I am amazed that people can think they know the song and not know it is a prayer for peace," Mr. Regney said in an interview in The New York Times in 1985. "But we are so bombarded by sound and our attention spans are so short that we now listen only to catchy beginnings."
Mr. Regney was drafted into the Nazi army despite being a Frenchman. He soon deserted and joined a group of French resistance fighters. While still with the Germans, he once intentionally led his platoon toward a group of French partisans and was shot, his stepdaughter, Patricia Spiegel, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" had its origin when Mr. Regney was asked to write the flip side of a single that was expected to become a hit, according to an interview he gave in The Ridgefield Press in Connecticut.
He wrote the lyrics, based on his vision of a newborn lamb. He handed it to his wife and asked her to write the tune, the reverse of their usual procedure. She was shopping at Bloomingdale's when she thought of the first music line.
The finished version of the song moved the two creators so much that at first they could not sing it. "It broke us up," she said in the interview with The Ridgefield Press.
Regent Publishing Company bought the song after the flip-side deal fell through. The Harry Simeon Chorale recorded it, and it sold more than 250,000 copies in a week. Bing Crosby's version in 1963 sold more than a million copies.
The couple moved to Ridgefield in 1969 and were divorced several years later. Mr. Regney later lived in South Salem, Bethel and, most recently, Danbury, all in Connecticut.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Petrie Spiegel-Regney; two sons, Matthieu, of Bethel, and Paul, of Bangkok; a daughter, Gabrielle Regney, of the Bronx; a stepdaughter, Patricia Spiegel, of Danbury; a brother and a sister who both live in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France; and two grandchildren.
Do You Hear What I Hear? Lyrics
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 the sea,
With a voice as big as the 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."
Listen to this song:
http://www.always-safe.com/do-you.html or
http://www.christmas-carols.net/carols/do-you-hear.html
