O Little Town Of Bethlehem and Away In A Manger

Hollyn pairs two of the plainest Christmas carols — 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and 'Away in a Manger' — before adding an original bridge that shifts the song's grammar from description to direct address: 'and I love the way You love me... I feel Your peace all around me... come be my heart.' The two carols set the historical scene; the bridge turns that scene into a present-tense relationship.

'The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight' keeps Phillips Brooks's original language intact, tracing back to Micah 5:2's naming of Bethlehem as the place a ruler would come from despite being 'small among the clans of Judah.' 'I feel Your peace all around me' echoes Philippians 4:7's promise of 'the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding' — not a peace attached only to the original manger scene, but one the added bridge claims is available right now, in whatever room the carol is being sung.