It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan".

[1] English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens included a version on his album Teaser and the Firecat (1971).

[3] The hymn originally appeared in the second edition of Songs of Praise (published in 1931), to the tune "Bunessan", composed in the Scottish Islands.

In Songs of Praise Discussed, the editor, Percy Dearmer, explains that as there was need for a hymn to give thanks for each day, English poet and children's author Eleanor Farjeon had been "asked to make a poem to fit the lovely Scottish tune."

After appearing in Lachlan MacBean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael, "Bunessan" was used in the Revised Church Hymnary (1927) and the Appendix (1936) to the Irish Church Hymnal (1919) paired with the nativity text "Child in the Manger" by the Scottish poet Mary MacDonald (1789–1872), who lived on the Isle of Mull and was born there, near the village of Bunessan, after which the tune is named.

[5] Cat Stevens' recording, with piano arranged and performed by Rick Wakeman, led to international recognition of the song.

[8] Prior to the actual recording Stevens heard Wakeman play a rough sketch of what would later become "Catherine Howard" from his album The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973).

That same year he gave an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live in which he said he had agreed to perform on the Cat Stevens track for £10 and was "shattered" that he was omitted from the credits, adding that he never received the money either.

[12] On a documentary aired on British television, Wakeman stated that he felt Stevens's version of "Morning Has Broken" was a very beautiful piece of music that had brought people closer to religious truth, for which he expressed satisfaction in having contributed.

The song has been recorded by many other artists, including The New Seekers, Judith Durham, Steven Curtis Chapman, Judy Collins, Michael Card, Floyd Cramer, Dana, Neil Diamond, Órla Fallon, Art Garfunkel, Ellen Greene, Esther Ofarim, Daliah Lavi, Joe Longthorne, Jojje Wadenius and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (2010),[24] The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square,[25] Nana Mouskouri, Aaron Neville, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Joseph McManners, Sister Janet Mead, Mary O'Hara, Demis Roussos, Third Day, The Brilliance, Pam Tillis, Hayley Westenra, Roger Whittaker, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Libera (choir), Richard Souther and Dana Winner.

[26] The song has been translated into German ("Schön ist der Morgen", performed by Nana Mouskouri, and by Jürgen Henkys "Morgenlicht leuchtet" and included in the hymnal of the Protestant Church in Germany, Evangelisches Gesangbuch, under Nr.