--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sang 'O Holy Night' with the Vatican…" description: "\"I sang 'O Holy Night' with the Vatican orchestra, but also a Blake - a lullaby that William Blake wrote for the Christ child, and I set it to music, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/patti-smith-394_children_i-sang-o-holy-night-with-the-vatican-orc_2356678.jpg" --- # I sang 'O Holy Night' with the Vatican orchestra, but also… ![“I sang 'O Holy Night' with the Vatican orchestra, but also a Blake - a lullaby that William Blake wrote for the Christ child, and I set it to music, and the Vatican orchestra played the music.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/patti-smith-394_children_i-sang-o-holy-night-with-the-vatican-orc_2356678.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/patti-smith-394_children_i-sang-o-holy-night-with-the-vatican-orc_2356678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16f/patti-smith-394_children_i-sang-o-holy-night-with-the-vatican-orc_2356678.jpg) > “I sang 'O Holy Night' with the Vatican orchestra, but also a Blake - a lullaby that William Blake wrote for the Christ child, and I set it to music, and the Vatican orchestra played the music.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist blends sacred music with poetic lullabies, showing how diverse traditions can create new, personal expressions. **In simple terms:** Mixing traditions creates fresh art. Key Takeaway Combine traditions creatively. Themes creativity spirituality music Mood inspired contemplative Type artistic musical When to use this quote - songwriting - performance - spiritual practice - personal rituals Key Concepts intertextuality cultural fusion Questions to Reflect On - What traditions inspire you? - How do you honor originals while innovating? A Different Perspective Balancing reverence for originals with innovation can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blake Lullaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blake-lullaby-5757022/) [Blake Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blake-wrote-3779781/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Holy night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-night/) [Lullaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lullaby/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Vatican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-vatican-5757024/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Orchestra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orchestra/) [Orchestra Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orchestra-blake-5757023/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-blake/) ## Related quotes > [ “(about William Blake) \[Blake\] said most of us mix up God and Satan. He said that what most people think is God is merely… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/about-william-blake-blake-said-most-of-us-mix-up-god-and-satan-he/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“The mystic poet William Blake once wrote, “The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water and breeds reptiles of the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-robbins/the-mystic-poet-william-blake-once-wrote-the-man-who-never-alters-his/) [Anthony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-robbins/) > [William Blake once wrote; There are things that are known and thing that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/william-blake-once-wrote-there-are-things-that-are-known-and-thing/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“As the lives of their characters develop, they end up on paths that writers could not possibly have foreseen—and hence give the impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-r-sunstein/as-the-lives-of-their-characters-develop-they-end-up-on-paths-that/) [Cass R. Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-r-sunstein/) > [“As Blake wrote in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/as-blake-wrote-in-the-marriage-of-heaven-and-hell-you-never-know-what/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [When I was working on the lyrics, I thought of all the lullabies we learn as children: "Away in the Manger," William Blake's lullabies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/when-i-was-working-on-the-lyrics-i-thought-of-all-the-lullabies-we/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm old-fashioned. I think William Blake and people in the Renaissance people were multi. Look at da Vinci, he was involved in science; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-old-fashioned-i-think-william-blake-and-people-in-the-renaissance/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“That’s what Hringkälla celebrates,” continued Brum. “And every year if there are worthy initiates, the drüskelle gather at the sacred ash, where they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/that-s-what-hringk-lla-celebrates-continued-brum-and-every-year-if/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [I sang "O Holy Night" in a school choir. My mother came and listened to me and complimented me. So that was the high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/i-sang-o-holy-night-in-a-school-choir-my-mother-came-and-listened-to/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Too long now things divine have been cheaply used And all the power of heaven, the kindly, spent In trifling waste by cold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-h-lderlin/too-long-now-things-divine-have-been-cheaply-used-and-all-the-power/) [Friedrich Hölderlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-h-lderlin/) > [I did 'Oh Holy Night,' which is one that I grew up listening to because I was in choir in high school and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/i-did-oh-holy-night-which-is-one-that-i-grew-up-listening-to-because/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Silent night, holy night, when the bough flies from the tree and is hung everywhere, when from tables the crusts fly, when the gifts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingeborg-bachmann/silent-night-holy-night-when-the-bough-flies-from-the-tree-and-is/) [Ingeborg Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingeborg-bachmann/) > [The mystery of the Holy Night, which historically happened two thousand years ago, must be lived as a spiritual event in the 'today' of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-mystery-of-the-holy-night-which-historically-happened-two/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Each night a child is born is a holy night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-lyon-fahs/each-night-a-child-is-born-is-a-holy-night/) [Sophia Lyon Fahs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-lyon-fahs/) > [O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of the dear Savior's birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/o-holy-night-the-stars-are-brightly-shining-it-is-the-night-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Patti Smith > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. 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