Morning Has Broken is globally renowned due to British pop star Cat Stevens' recording of it on his Teaser and the Firecat (1971) album. Morning Has Broken actually began as a Christian hymn, published in 1931 in Songs of Praise. The melody is a Scottish Gaelic folk song, Bunessan. Writer Eleanor Farjeon penned new lyrics to Bunessan, inspired by a morning in the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, Great Britain. Bunessan was a very popular melody and was used in a string of Christian hymns, including Christ Be Beside Me, This Day God Gives Me, and Baptized In Water.
Here is the first verse of Morning Has Broken:
Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing, praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the world
Study Tips
Melody
The melody is straightforward, slow-moving, and shouldn't present much difficulty. Maintain the triple meter feel by accenting the downbeat, count out the dotted half notes, and you should be golden.
Chords
The Simple strum 3/4 is recommended for this piece: strum downwards on the first beat of the measure with the flesh of your thumb. That is, strum once every three beats. That's what I use in the audio track. The flat-three strum, i.e., three down strums per measure, also works if you're careful not to cover up the melody. If you are fleet of finger, the P-i-m-a-m-i arpeggio imparts a folkloric harp-like character befitting of this style.
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Morning Musings
Study Tips
Melody 
Morning Has Broken 
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