"When a Child is Born" is a popular Christmas song. The original melody was "Soleado", a tune from 1972 by Ciro Dammicco (alias Zacar), composer for Italy's Daniel Santacruz Ensemble. The English language lyrics were written a few years later by Fred Jay. They do not make specific mention of Christmas but the importance they attach to looking forward to the birth of one particular child somewhere, anywhere, suggests a reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.