In 1884, the first two verses were falsely attributed to Martin Luther. Supposedly he wrote them for his children. These words were probably written specifically for Martin Luther's 400th anniversary and then credited to the reformer as a marketing gimmick.
The song was published later with two verses in an Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School collection (1885) where it was titled simply, Away in a Manger and was set to the tune of "St. Kilda," credited to J. E. Clark.
The third stanza, "Be near me, Lord Jesus" was first printed in 1892 in Gabriel's Vineyard Songs, where it appeared to a tune by Charles H. Gabriel, probably making the last verse's lyrics Gabriel's. He credited the whole text to Luther and called it simply "The Cradle Song."
The music that most of you (and the US) would be familiar with is Murray's, commonly known as "Mueller." The other not so known tune (the prettiest, in my opinion), "Cradle Song" was written by William J. Kirkpatrick. It is an adaption of the melody originally composed by Jonathan E. Spilman to "Sweet Afton."
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes;
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for Heaven to live with Thee there.
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