We Three Kings: A Christmas Hymn

We Three Kings or known as “The Quest of the Magi” is a hymn for Christmas that was made by John Hopkins in the year 1857. This song explains the journey of the three wise men, who embarked on a journey to see the newborn Jesus Christ and brought along with them gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold.

During the creation of "We Three Kings," Hopkins was a pastor at Christ Episcopal Church which is located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He then made the song for a Christmas pageant held in New York City. there are a lot of versions of this song that have been produced. People continue to love the hymn as a very beloved Christmas carol.

Hopkin, organized the hymn in a way that three voices of men would sing one verse to correspond with the three wise men. The hymn’s first and last verses are sung by all three men together, and the intermediate verses are sung solely with each man describing the gift he brought. Today, the solo performances are usually not followed when singing the hymn. The melody has been recognized as “melodramatic” and “moving” in nature.

Due to this description, the hymn now resembles a song from the middle eastern music, both which has been often compared to. The song did leave an impression from the old up to the present times, and has never grown old from us. No matter the modification as what they called, still the meaning of the hymn remain unchanged.