First Song

The song I chose to base my piece off of is Silent Night

Lyrics:

Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night!
Son of God love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth

When I was very young (~4-7 years old) my family was very poor. My mom divorced my dad before I was born and she was raising my brother and I with the help of our grandparents. My mom started taking us to the local church because they served free dinner after weekend service. one of my first distinct memories is being at the church around Christmas time and participating in singing hymns with everyone else there, including my family. Silent Night was the one song that stuck out the most to me, so I practiced it daily with the prerecorded version on our electric keyboard. I also learned that it told the story of the birth of Jesus, which at the time I was taught to believe occurred on December 25th. I was also born on December 25th which made me feel a deeper connection to the song. I always thought the imagery of Silent Night was so beautiful; a family huddled close together on a cold night with their love keeping them warm. I tried to convey that image in my art piece-a small watercolor of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. Perhaps I loved that image, in a way, because it was something I desired deep down.