Lyrics
Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.
For all is hushed,
The world is sleeping,
Holy Star its vigil keeping.
Still, still, still,
One can hear the falling snow.
Sleep, sleep, sleep,
'Tis the eve of our Savior's birth.
The night is peaceful all around you,
Close your eyes let sleep surround you.
Sleep, sleep, sleep,
'Tis the eve of our Savior's birth.
Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.
While guardian angels without number
Watch you as you sweetly slumber.
Dream, dream, dream,
Of the joyous day to come.
Public domain hymn text. Traditional Austrian carol, author unknown.
The Story Behind the Hymn
'Still, Still, Still' is a traditional Austrian carol first collected in the Salzburg region, with its melody generally dated to around 1819, developed within the region's tradition of folk carols sung in local dialect.
The carol's three verses move through a simple progression, from the hushed stillness of the falling snow, to sleep itself, and finally to dreams of 'the joyous day to come,' each verse quieter and more inward than the last.
Its closing verse pictures 'guardian angels without number' watching over the sleeping child, extending the same protective quiet found throughout the carol into its final image.
Unlike carols announcing the Nativity through choirs of angels or crowds of shepherds, this one imagines the scene from the opposite direction, treating profound, protective quiet as the fitting response to the moment.
The carol remained largely a regional Austrian and Alpine tradition for generations before gaining wider international recognition through twentieth-century recordings and arrangements.
