Noel Regney, who helped write the beloved Christmas song ''Do You Hear What I Hear?'' died last Sunday in Brewster, N.Y. He was 80.

He wrote the seasonal standard with Gloria Shayne, then his wife, in 1962. It was recorded by Bing Crosby and Perry Como, among others, in more than 120 versions, in musical styles ranging from jazz and New Age to funk and reggae.

But Mr. Regney wrote it as a clear and plaintive plea for peace at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, in October 1962. His favorite version was Robert Goulet's. When Mr. Goulet came to the line ''Pray for peace, people, everywhere,'' he almost shouted the words.

''I am amazed that people can think they know the song -- and not know it is a prayer for peace,'' Mr. Regney said in an interview in The New York Times in 1985. ''But we are so bombarded by sound and our attention spans are so short that we now listen only to catchy beginnings.''