Morning has Broken

Cat Stevens

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

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 the springing
fresh from the word

"Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by Eleanor Farjeon and a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" (it shares this tune with the 19th century Christmas Carol "Child in the Manger"[1]). It is often sung in children's services. Pop and folk singer Cat Stevens included a version on his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat. The song became identified with Stevens when it reached number 6 on the US pop chart and #1 on the US adult contemporary chart in 1972.[2]

The hymn originally appeared in the second edition of Songs of Praise (published in 1931), to the tune "Bunessan", arranged by the composer Martin Shaw. 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 gaelic 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.
"Bunessan" had been found in L. McBean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael, published in 1900.[3] Before Farjeon's words, the tune was used as a Christmas carol, which began "Child in the manger, Infant of Mary", translated from the Gaelic lyrics written by Mary MacDonald. The English-language Roman Catholic hymnal also uses the tune for the hymn, "This Day God Gives Me".
[edit]Cat Stevens' recording

Writing credit for "Morning Has Broken" has occasionally been erroneously attributed to Stevens, who popularised the song abroad. The familiar piano arrangement on Stevens' recording was performed by Rick Wakeman, a classically trained keyboardist with the English progressive rock band Yes. 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" to be omitted from the credits, adding that he never received the money either. Apparently where “Morning Has Broken” is concerned, all Cat Stevens had was a hymn which lasted around 45 seconds. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith told him he could never put something like that on an album, that it needed at least to be three minutes in length. 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 and got him as far as adapting his own composition.[4] The familiar piano intro and general structure of the piece may be attributed to Stevens or to Wakeman. Although some sources report that the song was released on Floyd Cramer's 1961 album Last Date, discographies of the artist demonstrate that the song is not on that album. In fact, Cramer did not record the song until 1972, when he used the arrangement that he attributed to Cat Stevens.[5]
The song has been recorded by numerous other artists, including Judy Collins, Michael Card, Floyd Cramer, Dana, Neil Diamond, Art Garfunkel, Joe Longthorne, Nana Mouskouri, Aaron Neville, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Sister Janet Mead, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Consider the Lilies, Roger Whittaker and Ellen Greene recently on Pushing Daisies.
In November 2008, the Teaser and the Firecat album was re-issued in a deluxe CD version which includes the original demo of "Morning Has Broken".