Silent Night – English Lyrics

• By: Sinead O'Connor

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the serene beauty of "Silent Night" as performed by Sinead O'Connor. This timeless carol, sung with O'Connor's signature emotional depth, offers a unique opportunity to appreciate the soothing power of music and learn the universal message of peace and hope embedded in its lyrics. Experience how O'Connor's delicate interpretation brings a fresh perspective to this classic, making it a truly special listening experience.

[English]

Silent night, Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant so tender and mild

We say sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, Holy night!

Shepherds first saw the sight

Glories streaming from Heaven afar

Heavenly hosts singing, "Alleluia"

Christ the Saviour is born!

Christ the Saviour is born

Silent night, Holy night!

All is calm, we say, all is bright

Round yon virgin, mother and child

Holy infant so tender and mild

We sing, sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Key Grammar Structures

• Silent night, Holy night!

  ➔ exclamatory sentence

  ➔ This is an exclamatory sentence that shows strong feeling; the adjectives "Silent" and "Holy" are emphasized.

• All is calm, all is bright

  ➔ present simple (linking verb + adjective)

  ➔ The verb "is" is in the present simple, linking the subject "All" to the adjectives "calm" and "bright".

• Round yon virgin, mother and child

  ➔ prepositional phrase (archaic "round" = around)

  ➔ The word "Round" functions as a preposition meaning “around”, introducing the noun phrase "yon virgin, mother and child".

• Shepherds first saw the sight

  ➔ past simple

  ➔ The verb "saw" is in the past simple, indicating a completed action in the past.

• Glories streaming from Heaven afar

  ➔ present participle clause

  ➔ "Streaming" is a present participle forming a clause that describes the noun "Glories".

• Heavenly hosts singing, "Alleluia"

  ➔ present participle clause

  ➔ "Singing" is a present participle that adds extra information about "Heavenly hosts".

• Christ the Saviour is born!

  ➔ passive voice (be + past participle)

  ➔ "Is born" uses the passive construction (be + past participle) to indicate that Christ receives the action of being born.

• We say "sleep in heavenly peace"

  ➔ reporting verb + infinitive (elliptical)

  ➔ "Say" is a reporting verb followed by an implied infinitive clause "to sleep in heavenly peace"; the infinitive is omitted for brevity.

• All is calm, we say, all is bright

  ➔ coordinated clause with parenthetical insertion

  ➔ Two independent clauses "All is calm" and "all is bright" are linked by a comma, with the parenthetical "we say" inserted in the middle.