"Away in a Manger"

Do you know this Christmas carol?  It's a very soft, quiet, and lovely song.  The tune sounds very much like a lullaby, and in fact, the lyrics of the song are all about little baby Jesus going to sleep.  As the story (basically) goes, a very pregnant Mary & her husband Joseph were traveling.  They couldn't find a room the night that Jesus was due to be born, but an innkeeper let them sleep in the barn behind the inn.  Jesus was born, and they put him in the manger, which is a box of hay used to feed the animals.

Why am I talking about a Christmas song in July?  I'm getting to that point.  One moment, please.

The second verse of this sweet & gentle, soft & quiet, lullaby-like song starts like this:
"The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes..."

Now, I have heard and sung this song every year for decades.  And every time, the sweet & gentle, soft & quiet, lullaby-like mood of the song has filled me with a sleepy feeling myself.   Even when singing "The cattle are lowing," well, "low" even sounds like "low volume" or "low tension" or at least just nice & quiet.  Even though "the Baby awakes", he doesn't cry or fuss or make extra noises, so "the cattle are lowing" really doesn't sound so bad.

WRONG.  OH,  MY  GOODNESS,  I  WAS  SO  VERY  WRONG.

My folks have a pretty big field right outside the house, and they let some local ranchers keep their cattle in the field for a few days as they prepare to drive the cattle to the summer pasture.  These cows don't say  "moo" in a sweet & gentle, soft & quiet, lullaby-like tone.  They say "MRAA-OO! KK-CH-KAOO! PRA-ZAGAAA!!"  And they say it at about 5a.m.  And they all say it. All 100 of the cattle.  The cows, "MRAA-OO!"  The steer, "MRAA-OO! KK-CH-KAOO! "  Even the cute little baby calves on spindly legs throw back their heads and say, "PRA-ZAGAAA!!"

And let me tell you, this baby cries.  5 o'clock in the morning, three or four mornings in a row is enough.  "The cattle are lowing" no longer sounds sweet & gentle, nor soft & quiet, nor lullaby-like to me.

This Christmas, when I hear "Away in a Manger", I'm not going to want to sing sweetly & gently.  I'm going to want to grill some steaks.