Word to morning has broken

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Утро свершилось как первое утро,
Чёрный дрозд заговорил как первая птица.
Хвала за пение, хвала за утро,
Хвала им, родом из мира.

Восхитительны грядущие дожди, залитые солнцем с Небес,
Как первая роса на первой траве.
Хвала сладости влажного сада,
Явленной в полноте там, где ступают Его ноги.

Мой — этот солнечный свет, мое — это утро,
Рожденные тем же светом, что сиял в Эдеме.
Восхваляйте с восторгом, восхваляйте каждое утро
Божье воссоздание нового дня.

Утро свершилось как первое утро,
Чёрный дрозд заговорил как первая птица.
Хвала за пение, хвала за утро,
Хвала им, родом из мира.

Originally a Scottish Christian hymn “Bunessan”
which had been found in L. McBean’s Songs And Hymns Of The Gael published in 1900, the tune was used as a Christmas carol.
In 1931, English poet and author Eleanor Farjeon was asked to make a poem to fit the tune.

“Morning Has Broken” appeared on Cat Stevens’ Teaser And The Firecat album released October 1, 1971. Produced by ex-Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, the gospel song features a piano arrangement composed and performed by Rick Wakeman, a classically trained keyboardist well known from as a member of English prog-rockers Yes.

The single peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart for a week in May of 1972.

In 2000, Wakeman in an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live said he had agreed to perform on the Cat Stevens track for £10 and was “shattered” that he was omitted from the credits, adding he never received the money either.
On his return to performance as Yusuf Islam, Stevens made a payment to Wakeman and apologized for the original non-payment, which arose from confusion and a misunderstanding on the record label’s part. On a documentary aired on British television Wakeman stated that he felt Stevens’s version of “Morning Has Broken” was a very beautiful piece of music that had brought people closer to religious truth. He expressed satisfaction in having contributed to this.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Morning Has Broken
Eleanor Farjeon
Genre	Christian hymn (composer Martin Shaw)
Text	Eleanor Farjeon
Language	English
Meter	5.5.5.4 D
Melody	«Bunessan»
Performed	1931

«Morning Has Broken» is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, «Bunessan».^[1] It is often sung in children’s services and in funeral services.^[2]

English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens included a version on his album Teaser and the Firecat (1971). The song became identified with Stevens due to the popularity of this recording. It reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number one on the U.S. easy listening chart in 1972,^[3] and number four on the Canadian RPM magazine charts.^[4]

Origins[edit]

The hymn originally appeared in the second edition of Songs of Praise (published in 1931), to the tune «Bunessan», composed in the Scottish Islands. In Songs of Praise Discussed, the editor, Percy Dearmer, explains that as there was need for a hymn to give thanks for each day, English poet and children’s author Eleanor Farjeon had been «asked to make a poem to fit the lovely Scottish tune.» A slight variation on the original hymn, also written by Eleanor Farjeon, can be found in the form of a poem contributed to the anthology Children’s Bells, under Farjeon’s new title, «A Morning Song (For the First Day of Spring)», published by Oxford University Press in 1957. The song is noted in ⁹
₄ time but with a ³
₄ feel.

After appearing in Lachlan MacBean’s Songs and Hymns of the Gael, «Bunessan» was used in the Revised Church Hymnary (1927) and the Appendix (1936) to the Irish Church Hymnal (1919) paired with the nativity text «Child in the Manger» by the Scottish poet Mary MacDonald (1789–1872), who lived on the Isle of Mull and was born there, near the village of Bunessan, for which the tune is named. The tune is also used for the James Quinn hymns «Christ Be Beside Me» and «This Day God Gives Me», both of which were adapted from the traditional Irish hymn «St. Patrick’s Breastplate». Michael Saward’s hymn «Baptized In Water» also uses the tune.

Cat Stevens recording[edit]

«Morning Has Broken»
Single by Cat Stevens
from the album Teaser and the Firecat
B-side	«I Want to Live in a Wigwam»
Released	7 January 1972[5]
Recorded	March 1971
Studio	Morgan Studios, London
Genre	Folk rock, soft rock, gospel
Length	3:20
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Arranger: Cat Stevens Lyrics: Eleanor Farjeon Music: Bunessan (traditional) Additional music: Rick Wakeman
Producer(s)	Paul Samwell-Smith
Cat Stevens singles chronology
«Peace Train» (1971) «Morning Has Broken» (1972) «Can’t Keep It In» (1972)

Cat Stevens’ recording, with piano arranged and performed by Rick Wakeman, led to international recognition of the song.

When shaping «Morning Has Broken» for recording, Stevens started with the hymn, which took around 45 seconds to sing in its basic form. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith told him he could never put something like that on an album, and that it had to be at least three minutes, though an acoustic demo of an early Stevens version lasts almost three minutes.^[6] Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play something in the recording booth. It was a rough sketch of what would later become «Catherine Howard». Stevens told Wakeman that he liked it and wanted something similar as the opening section, the closing section and, if possible, a middle section as well. Wakeman told Stevens he could not as it was his piece destined for a solo album, but Stevens persuaded him to adapt his composition.^[7][8] The single reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Stevens’s most successful single on the latter chart (later tied by his rendition of «Another Saturday Night»).

In 2000, Wakeman released an instrumental version of «Morning Has Broken» on an album of the same title. That same year he gave an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live in which he said he had agreed to perform on the Cat Stevens track for £10 and was «shattered» that he was omitted from the credits, adding that he never received the money either.^{[citation needed]}

On his return to performance as Yusuf Islam, Stevens paid Wakeman and apologized for the original non-payment, which he said arose from confusion and misunderstanding by the record label. On a documentary aired on British television, Wakeman stated that he felt Stevens’s version of «Morning Has Broken» was a very beautiful piece of music that had brought people closer to religious truth, for which he expressed satisfaction in having contributed.^{[citation needed]} Wakeman included a 3:42 version on his 2017 album of piano arrangements, Piano Portraits.^{[citation needed]}

The Stevens arrangement changes key four times, with the first, second, and fourth verses of the song in C major, while the instrumental introduction, third verse, and the instrumental ending are in D major.

Chart history[edit]

Other versions[edit]

The song has been recorded by many other artists, including The New Seekers, Judith Durham, Steven Curtis Chapman, Judy Collins, Michael Card, Floyd Cramer, Dana, Neil Diamond, Órla Fallon, Art Garfunkel, Ellen Greene, Esther Ofarim, Daliah Lavi, Joe Longthorne, Jojje Wadenius and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (2010),^[19] the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Nana Mouskouri, Aaron Neville, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Joseph McManners, Sister Janet Mead, Mary O’Hara, Demis Roussos, Third Day, The Brilliance, Pam Tillis, Hayley Westenra, Roger Whittaker, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Libera (choir), Richard Souther and Dana Winner.^{[citation needed]} A version by Isleville Symphonette reached No. 24 in the Canadian AC charts.^[20]

The song has been translated into German («Schön ist der Morgen», performed by Nana Mouskouri, and by Jürgen Henkys «Morgenlicht leuchtet» and included in the hymnal of the German Protestant Lutheran Church, Evangelisches Gesangbuch, under Nr. 455, and also in the hymnal of the Protestant (Reformed) Church of Switzerland, RG (reformiertes Gesangbuch), under Nr. 533. Also, the song has been translated into French («Matin brisé», performed by Eva on her 1972 album L’orage), Dutch (Licht Op De Lakes performed by Rowwen Hèze^[21]) and other languages.^[22]

See also[edit]

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1972 (U.S.)
• Christian child’s prayer § Morning Prayer

References[edit]

External links[edit]