"Away in a Manger" was first published in an 1885 Lutheran Sunday School book by James R. Murray, but the author of the first two stanzas is unknown. The tune of this version is that most commonly used in the United Kingdom. It was written by William J. Kirkpatrick and was first published in 1895.

"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols; a 1996 Gallup Poll ranked it joint second. Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin. The two most-common musical settings are by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) and James Ramsey Murray (1887).
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