Oíche Chiúin - Silent Night

A Puppy Noel

Silent Night was written on Christmas Eve in 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria. It was a poem written in German by an Austrian priest named Father Joseph Mohr. By 1955 Silent Night had become the most recorded song in all history.

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 Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic Dé,
Cách 'na suan, dís araon,
Dís is dílse ag faire le spéis,
Naí beag gnaoi-gheal ceanán tais caomh
Críost ina chodladh go séimh,
Críost ina chodladh go séimh.

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic Dé,
Aoirí ar dtús chuala an scéal,
"Aililiuia" aingil ag glaoch
Cantain Shuairc i ngar is i gcéin
Críost ár Slánaitheoir féin,
Críost ár Slánaitheoir féin.

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic Dé,
Mac Dé bhí, gáire a bhéil,
Tuar dá rá 's dá lán-chur i gcéill,
Ann gur tháinig tráth chinn a tséin,
Críost a theacht ar an saol,
Críost a theacht ar an saol.

 Silent night, night of God's son.
Soundly in slumber, the pair together,
The pair and love, watching with affection,
The small bright beautiful child Darling one
Christ, calmly asleep,
Christ, calmly asleep.

Silent night, night of God's son.
Shepherds first heard the tale,
The angels crying out Alleluia.
Lovely chanting near and far.
Christ, the saviour himself,
Christ, the saviour himself.

Silent night, night of God's son.
God's Son with a smile on his face
A sign spoken to be fully understood
The sweet voice of an angel heard in the air
Christ is coming into the world,
Christ is coming into the world.

The Phonetics on this page were done by a student of Irish. For official standard phonetics consult Foclóir Póca

The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber.

Christmas Candle The carol was first performed in the Nikolaus-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria, on December 24, 1818. Mohr had composed the words two years earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the Midnight Mass.

In his written account regarding the composition of the carols, Gruber gives no mention of the specific inspiration for creating the song. According to the song's history provided by Austria's Silent Night Society, one supposition is that the church organ was no longer working so that Mohr and Gruber therefore created a song for accompaniment by guitar.

A popular story claims that the carol, once performed, was promptly forgotten until an organ repairman found the manuscript in 1825 and revived it. However, Gruber published various arrangements of it throughout his lifetime and we now have the Mohr arrangement (ca. 1820) that is kept at the Museum Carolino Augusteum in Salzburg, Austria. The carol has been translated into over 44 languages. It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment. The song was sung simultaneously in French, English and German by troops during the World War I Christmas truce of 1914, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew. The song has been recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful in hit versions by Enya (sung in Irish).

Guitar and chords

    
 12.09 12.10 Sincerely Vivian & Jack Hennessey, IrishPage.com Christmas 2011
Pop up phonetics by Jack
Ceol arís - Replay music: Silent Night


Filleadh go liosta
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