Mary, Did You Know?
"Mary, Did You Know?" is a Christmas song addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, with lyrics written by Mark Lowry in 1984, and music written by Buddy Greene in 1991. It was originally recorded by Christian recording artist Michael English on his self-titled debut solo album in 1991. At the time, English and Lowry were members of the Gaither Vocal Band, and Greene was touring with them. The song reached Number 6 on CCM Magazine's Adult Contemporary Chart. Lowry would record the song several times himself, most notably with the Gaither Vocal Band on their 1998 Christmas album, Still the Greatest Story Ever Told.
The song has since gone on to become a modern Christmas classic, recorded by hundreds of artists over the years, across multiple genres. Different versions have reached the top ten in the Billboard R&B and Holiday charts.
Music and lyrics
"Mary, Did You Know?" was originally released in the key of E minor, with a tempo of 53 beats per minute based around a chord progression of Em–D–Am7–B7sus4–B7 and is in the meter. The lyrics evolved from a series of questions that Lowry scripted for a Christmas program at his church:None of the questions are answered in the song. Instead, the lyrics poetically invite the listener to contemplate the relationship between Mary and her newborn divine son, even if her faith and awareness did not yet include the details of what would unfold.
The text has received criticism for perceived ambiguity or lack of scriptural or theological depth. For example, Lutheran writer Holly Scheer, in addressing the rhetorical question of the song's title, wrote: "Anyone who has even a slight familiarity with the biblical account of Christ's conception and birth shouldn't need to ask if Mary knew, because the Bible plainly tells us she did." Baptist theologian Michael Frost suggests it is the "most sexist Christmas song ever written... It treats her like a clueless child... Could you imagine a song asking Abraham 17 times if he knew he'd be the father of a great nation?"
Kenny Rogers & Wynonna Judd version
A duet version, recorded by Wynonna Judd and Kenny Rogers on Rogers' holiday album The Gift, peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1997.Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
Clay Aiken version
"Mary, Did You Know?" was Clay Aiken's fifth single from his 2004 Christmas album Merry Christmas with Love. Aiken performed the song on The Tyra Banks Show.Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 35 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Christian Songs | 32 |
Cee Lo Green version
"Mary, Did You Know?" is the eleventh track on Cee Lo's Christmas album Cee Lo's Magic Moment. On December 15, 2012, the song appeared on the US R&B Songs chart at number 22, and peaked three weeks later at number 9. This version is the slowest of all. It also served as the closing credits song to the 2014 20th Century Fox movie Son of God.Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Songs | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 35 |
Pentatonix version
"Mary, Did You Know?" is the sixth track on Pentatonix's second Christmas album, That's Christmas to Me. The song both debuted and peaked at No. 26 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 6, 2014.Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |