Morning Has Broken: The Strange Journey of a Hymn That Neil Diamond Turned Into a Life Story
It’s hard to believe that one of the most serene songs ever recorded—Morning Has Broken—began its life not in a studio, but as a simple children’s hymn written in 1931. Before it became a folk-pop standard, before Cat Stevens made it a global hit in 1971, and long before Neil Diamond wrapped his weathered voice around it, the song belonged to quiet English classrooms and small churches. And yet, decades later, it would find its way to America and into the hands of a man whose life had already moved through storms, fame, heartbreak, and illness.
This strange journey—from a Scottish folk melody to an English hymn to a modern American prayer—explains why Neil Diamond’s version carries a weight no one expected. It is not merely a cover. It is the sound of a man looking back.
An English Hymn That Refused To Stay Still
Morning Has Broken was written by Eleanor Farjeon, a poet asked to create a hymn for the village of Alfriston in East Sussex. She borrowed the melody from a traditional Scottish tune called “Bunessan,” crafting lyrics meant to celebrate a simple miracle: waking up alive.
For years, the song stayed inside British hymnals. Quiet. Modest. Unknown to the world.
Then Cat Stevens discovered it in the early ’70s, reshaping it into a gentle folk anthem with piano arrangements that made it feel like a rising sun. His version became timeless. Yet what happened next is what truly carried the song across oceans and generations.
America Rewrites the Song — Through Neil Diamond’s Voice
Neil Diamond grew up in Brooklyn, far from Scottish hills or English chapels. But he was a man who always searched for meaning beyond the noise of fame. After decades of chart-toppers, world tours, marriages that collapsed, and a long struggle with loneliness, Neil reached an age where reflection became his companion.
So when he revisited Morning Has Broken, it hit him not as a hymn, but as a biography.
Cat Stevens sang the song as a man discovering the morning. Neil Diamond sang it as a man grateful that the morning still comes.
His gravel-warm voice added something the song never had before—the feeling of surviving something, the tremor of someone who has walked through darkness and still chooses to rise. Fans often describe his rendition as “a hymn for grown-ups,” because it doesn’t feel like innocence; it feels like forgiveness.
A Song That Crossed Borders, Faiths, and Generations
Few songs travel as widely as Morning Has Broken.
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Born from Scottish folk tradition
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Rewritten into an Anglican hymn
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Reborn as a folk-pop hit
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Reimagined by an American icon
By the time Neil Diamond recorded it, the song had lived many lives. And maybe that is why he felt drawn to it—because he, too, had lived many lives.
Music historians often note that Neil chose this song during a period when he was stepping away from touring due to Parkinson’s disease. He had begun speaking publicly about gratitude, silence, and mornings that mattered more than ever. His voice, though older and trembling slightly, carried the depth of someone who finally understood the hymn’s message.
Morning has broken…
The words sound different when sung by someone who has broken, too.
The Version That Feels Like a Confession
When Neil Diamond sings the line “Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,” it does not sound like poetry. It sounds like a memory. Perhaps a morning after heartbreak. Perhaps a quiet sunrise after years of chaos. Perhaps simply a man accepting that life has been both kind and cruel—and still worth praising.
This version is why many listeners prefer Neil’s recording over younger, smoother voices. It is not perfect. But it is human.
The journey of Morning Has Broken mirrors Neil Diamond’s own story: unexpected, wandering, full of pain, yet ultimately warm with hope.
A Scottish melody became a British hymn. A British hymn became a global anthem.
And somewhere along the way, an American legend turned it into something deeply personal:
a reminder that all of us, no matter what we’ve lived through, get another morning.