Religion

Sid Ramachandran ’21

Devotional music has been a set piece in Christian orthopraxy. One of these works, titled “How Far is it to Bethlehem?” (HFB), written by Frances Chesterton, is a traditional English Christmas carol. This song, also known as “The Children’s Song Of The Nativity,” features music based on a 16th-18th-century tune called the “stowey.” The song has numerous simple questions—some answered, and some left for the singer or listener to answer on his own. Two contrasting theories provide different lenses of understanding the song. Deconstructionism is a theory devised by Jacques Derrida which questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth with the intent of finding contradictions in a text. It asserts that words can only refer to other terms and attempts to organize a text hierarchically can subvert deeper meanings. On the contrary, Peter Elbow’s Believing Game is the “disciplined practice” of accepting and trying to believe everything that one encounters on the premise that any analysis devalues the originally intended thought (Introduction to Religion for Lawrentian Reader). Although the believing game theory, supported by traditional music, suggests that the song “How Far is it to Bethlehem?” honors the divinity of God, the deconstruction of the open-ended questions in the song casts doubt about God’s omnipotence.

The believing game is a tool to help us find the “hidden virtues” found in weakly supported positions (Introduction to Religion for Lawrentian Reader). In HFB, which is about infant Jesus, the various questions such as the stable room being “Lit by a star?” imply that the baby is divine (“Christmas-Songs.org”). Rhetorical devices are employed to express joy and anxiety experienced by someone who is about to meet their creator. When the performer/composer asks, “Will he awake?,” the human form of God is highlighted, and the believing theory suggests that God has taken the form of a baby and has human-like behaviors, including following the circadian rhythm. Furthermore, the song refers to “God” sleeping in his mother’s arms and all the babies sleeping with the satisfaction of their fulfilled desires, implying that the chief appeal of all living beings is to meet God (“Christmas-Songs.org”). The believing game suggests that the song is about God’s arrival and connotes an affirmative response to all the questions. However, systematic analysis of the text and its inner meaning provides a reasonable middle ground to dissect a verse intellectually.

Deconstructive criticism is more appropriate for understanding subtext and suggests that the singer/composer humanizes God and doubts his abilities when he says, “If we touch His tiny hand will He awake? Will He know we’ve come so far just for His sake?” (“Christmas-Songs.org”) If the baby is God, he is omniscient and thus well aware of the arrival of his visitors and their sincerity. The uncertainty of the narrator shows the narrator’s sense of inadequacy and self-doubt, and the narrator tends to project the same on God as well. The overlaying of human tendencies such as materialism on God by wondering if he will acknowledge the “Little smiles and little tears” of the masses over the “precious gifts” from “Great Kings” boxes God within man’s insecurities and boundaries (“ChristmasSongs.org”). Such projections on God also explain religious barriers that are an extension of the cultural practices of a community. If God is the all-knowing, all-powerful being, then such fears and even questions are unnecessary. If he is not and has to be placated by material means, then his superior position beyond all reason becomes questionable. The deconstruction highlights that analysis of the text alone limits God to the projections made by man. Derrida coined the term “signifying chain” to explain the role which unclear aspects play in analyzing a text. The signifying chain of this song is the disunity between conventional ideations of God as beyond worldly desires, and the distinct impression of a discriminatory god, projected by our narrators.

The convincing aspect of HFB comes from the duality between the song’s lyrics and music. HFB is written in a tune called a “stowey,” and the piano prelude is written in G-major, while the singer’s key is E-major. The cadence structure of the piece is relatively basic; however, the use of an imperfect I-V cadence at the end of each line is a bit unorthodox. The melody’s overall tone is one of inviting warmth befitting devotional music. It leaves the listener with a sense of peace, with the strategic use of “Sleep, as they sleep who find/ Their heart’s desire,” as a final lyric (“ChristmasSongs.org”).

The devotional carol, “How Far is it to Bethlehem?” is a holy and soothing melody heralding the birth of Jesus Christ. The divine event is highlighted by the bright star, arrival of great kings, and by the devoutness of domestic animals. The musical melody and chorals create heavenly imagery and reinforce a belief in the glorious birth of the divine child. The aspects unraveled by the deconstruction theory only serve to limit this divinity by the restrictions in the human mind.

“Christmas-Songs.org.” Christmas Songs Lyrics, Music and Videos, christmas-songs.org/. Introduction to Religion for Lawrentian Reader.