[Verse 1]

Silent night, holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

[Verse 2]

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ the Saviour is born

Christ the Saviour is born

[Verse 3]

Silent night, holy night!

Son of God, love’s pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.

“Silent Night” (“Stille Nacht” in its original German) is one of the most well-known traditional Christmas carols sung around the world.

The song was originally a poem written by pastor Joseph Franz Mohr and composed by his friend Franz Xaver Gruber in early 19th century Austria. Pastor Mohr desperately needed a carol for the Christmas Eve midnight mass that was only hours away, and he hoped Gruber – a school teacher as well as the church’s choir master and organist – could set his poem to music; he composed the melody in just a few hours on that Christmas Eve.

The Hungarian lyrics:

Csendes éj! Szentséges éj!

Mindenek nyugta mély;

Nincs más fenn, csak a szent szülepár,

Drága kisdedük álmainál,

Szent Fiú, aludjál, szent Fiú aludjál!

Csendes éj! Szentséges éj!

Angyalok hangja kél;

Halld a mennyei halleluját,

Szerte zengi e drága szavát,

Krisztus megszabadít, Krisztus megszabadít!

Csendes éj! Szentséges éj!

Szív örülj, higgy, remélj!

Isten Szent Fia hinti reád,

Ajka vigaszt adó mosolyát,

Krisztus megszületett, Krisztus megszületett!

I like to go there in my sleep,

Aren’t any floors for me to sweep,

Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a room that’s full of toys.

There are a hundred boys and girls.

Nobody shouts or talks too loud,

Not in my castle on a cloud.

There is a lady all in white,

Holds me and sings a lullaby,

She’s nice to see and she’s soft to touch,

She says, “Cosette, I love you very much.”

I know a place where no one’s lost,

I know a place where no one cries,

Crying at all is not allowed,

Not in my castle on a cloud.

Do you remember the rhymes from the lyrics?

Key

You’ve got a friend in me

When the road looks rough ahead

And you’re miles and miles

From your nice warm bed

You just remember what your old pal said

Boy, you’ve got a friend in me

Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me

You’ve got a friend in me

You’ve got a friend in me

If you’ve got troubles, I’ve got ’em too

There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you

We stick together and can see it through

Cause you’ve got a friend in me

You’ve got a friend in me

Some other folks might be

A little bit smarter than I am

Bigger and stronger too

Maybe

But none of them will ever love you

The way I do, it’s me and you

Boy, and as the years go by

Our friendship will never die

You’re gonna see it’s our destiny

You’ve got a friend in me

You’ve got a friend in me

Can you find the English equivalent of the following Hungarian sentences in the lyrics?

1. Nincs olyan, amit meg nem tennék érted.

2. Csak emlékezz arra, amit öreg barátod mondott!

3. A barátságunk mindig élni fog.

4. Egyikük sem fog úgy szeretni, ahogy én szeretlek.

5. Mi összetartunk.

Key

1. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.

2. You just remember what your old pal said.

3. Our friendship will never die.

4. None of them will ever love you the way I do.

5. We stick together.

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