10 Lesser known Christmas songs 5 Wish you a merry Christmas

This is a traditional song sung with various words. This is a SouthYorkshire version as sung by Kate Rusby on The Frost is all over

We singers make bold, as in days of old,

To celebrate Christmas and bring you good cheer;

Glad tidings we bring to you and your King,

To wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year

We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Glad he shepherds amazed as upward they gazed,
Behold holy angels to them drawing near;
Sing peace to all men as onward they came
To wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

So join heart and hand across this great land
In hope, peace adn kindness throughout the New Year,
In an innocent way be merry today,
To wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
And we ...

I also have versions by Enya and by Richie Blackmore

10 Lesser known Christmas songs 4 O holy night

"O Holy Night" ("Minuit Chretiens!" or "Cantique de Noël") is a Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, Chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) written by a wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau (1808–1877). In both the French original and the English version of the carol, as well as many other languages, the text reflects on Christ's birth and on redemption.

O holy night the stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine, O night,
O night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from the Orient land.
A King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

Fall on your knees
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine, O night,
O night divine.

I know it in this form from Leigh Nash's Wishing for this. I also have it by Jon Anderson on his Three ships and The Chieftains' Bells of Dublin where the vocalist is Rickie Lee Jones (and featuring Suzie Katayama on cello) with these extra words

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

10 Lesser known Christmas songs 3 Ane sang of the birth of Christ

Ane Sang Of The Birth Of Christ (Balulalow)

Scottish 16th Century written by James, John and Robert Wedderburn

I come fra hevin here to tell

The best nowells that e'er befell

To you their tythings trew I bring

And I will of them say and sing.

To you this day is born ane child

Of Marie meik and Virgin mild.

That blissit bairn bening and kind (bening and kind)

Shall you rejoyce baith hart and mind.

Lat us rejoyis and be blyth

And with the Hydris go full swyth

And see what God of his grace has done

Throu Christ to bring us to his throne

My saull and life, stand up and see

What lyis in ane cribbe of tree.

What Babe is that, sa gude and fair? (sa gue and fair?)

It is Christ, God's Son and Air.

The silk and sandell thee to eis

Ar hay and sempill sweilling clais,

Whar thou greit glorious God and King

As thou in hev'n war in thy ring.

And war the warld ten times sa wide,

Cled ouer with gold and stanes of pride

Unworthie yit it were to thee

Under thy feet ane stule to be.

O my deir hart, yung Jesus sweit,

Prepare thy creddil in my spreit!

And I shall rock thee in my hart

And never mair fra thee depart.

Bot I sall praise thee evermoir

With sangis sweit unto thy gloir.

The kneis of my hart sall I bow,

And sing that rycht Balulalow.

This is again from Carols and capers by Maddy Prtor and the Carnival Band

10 Lesser known Christmas Songs 2 My dancing day

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;

I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance;

Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love

Then was I born of a virgin pure,
Of her I took fleshly substance
Thus was I knit to man's nature
To call my true love to my dance.

In a manger laid, and wrapped I was

So very poor, this was my chance
Betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass
To call my true love to my dance.

Other verses go as follows

Then afterwards baptized I was;

The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard from above,
To call my true love to my dance.

Into the desert I was led,

Where I fasted without substance;
The Devil bade me make stones my bread,
To have me break my true love's dance.

The Jews on me they made great suit,

And with me made great variance,
Because they loved darkness rather than light,
To call my true love to my dance.

For thirty pence Judas me sold,

His covetousness for to advance:
Mark whom I kiss, the same do hold!
The same is he shall lead the dance.

Before Pilate the Jews me brought,

Where Barabbas had deliverance;
They scourged me and set me at nought,
Judged me to die to lead the dance.

Then on the cross hanged I was,

Where a spear my heart did glance;
There issued forth both water and blood,
To call my true love to my dance.

Then down to hell I took my way
For my true love's deliverance,
And rose again on the third day,
Up to my true love and the dance.

Then up to heaven I did ascend,
Where now I dwell in sure substance
On the right hand of God, that man
May come unto the general dance.

I know the first part from the Maddy Prior and the Carnival band album Carols and capers. The traditional song goes back to Mediaeval times and is said to be the root of the modern song Lord of the dance.

10 Lesser known Christmas songs 1 Awake my soul

Awake my soul! Awake my tongue!
My glory wake and sing
To celebrate the holy birth
Of Israel's King.

Awake, awake my soul
Awake, awake awake my soul, awake my tongue
Awake me

O happy this night that brought forth the light
Which makes the blind to see
The Dayspring from on high came down to thee.

Awake, awake my soul
Awake, awake awake my soul, awake my tongue
Awake me

In Bethlehem
The Christ child he lies
Within a place obscure
Your Saviour's come
O sing to God on high

This is by Benjamin Keach and I know it from Page CXVI's Advent to Christmas

A fuller version goes

Awake my soul! Awake my tongue!
My glory wake and sing
To celebrate the holy birth
Of Israel's King.

Awake, awake my soul
Awake, awake awake my soul, awake my tongue
Awake me

O happy this night that brought forth the light
Which makes the blind to see
The Dayspring from on high came down to thee.

Awake, awake my soul
Awake, awake awake my soul, awake my tongue
Awake me

In Bethlehem
The Christ child he lies
Within a place obscure
Your Saviour's come
O sing to God on high

10 Carols From Different Countries

1. Silent night (Austria)
2. Infant holy (Poland)
3. Child in the manger (Scotland)
4. All poor men and humble (Wales)
5. While shepherds watched (England)
6. All my heart this night rejoices (Germany)
7. O little town of Bethlehem (USA)
8. O holy night (French)
9. The virgin Mary had a baby boy (Trinidad)
10. O come all ye faithful (Portugal?)

Sheep in Winter Yeaman

Sheep in winter by Ulsterman William Yeaman

Mary had the Little Lamb

Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth;
Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth. (Micah 5:2)

Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall - 

Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall. (Isaiah 7:14)

Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod. (John 6:38)

Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free. (1 Peter 1:18)

Mary had the little Lamb - men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave! (Matthew 28:6)

Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He;
All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Mary had the little Lame - mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold. (Revelation 5: 5,6)

When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure:
It won’t be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion’s roar. (Psalm 2:12; Revelation 19:11-16)

Marv & Marbeth Rosenthal

Copies of this poem may be used without written permission from the authors.

Musical Christmas Gem 10

10. Happy Xmas (War is over) by John Lennon with Yoko Ono. One of my Christmas rituals is to praise this song and to moan about Paul McCartney's execrable attempt at a Christmas number (Wonderful Christmas time). Actually as songs they are equal. The real difference is in the production and the sentiment. McCartney's features a tinny eighties synthesizer and sleigh bells and is all about having a nice time at Christmas. Lennon, on the other hand, has got Phil Spector in to do a massive production number with mandolins and children and choirs and who knows what else and with the genuine if naive aim of bringing the Vietnam War and indeed all wars to an end. As is apparent already I like a bit of seriousness in my holiday music (cf Greg Lake, The Pogues, also Jackson Browne's The Rebel Jesus on the Chieftains album I mentioned) and this one gives it in bucketfuls. Even Yoko Ono is bearable on this track. Here on wikipedia there is some more info, including the fact that at the beginning of the song the whispered words are not "Happy Christmas, Yoko. Happy Christmas, John" as I'd always assumed (giving it a rather self-indulgent flavour) but "Happy Christmas, Kyoko. Happy Christmas, Julian" ie to their kids.

Musical Christmas Gem 09

9. Fairytale of New York by the Pogues featuring Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl. This song has been in the news recently because of its questionable lyrics. I have both the original and an instrumental version. Against the odds Tunbridge Wells-born Shane McGowan will be 50 come Christmas Day and the Pogues are back together touring. Kirsty MacColl is sadly no longer with us following a holiday accident in December 2000 when she was 41. This is the only Pogues song I know. Its strength comes from its bitter sweet portrayal of Christmas on the seamier side. It succeeds where Blue Christmas and Lonely this Christmas do not (IMHO) by a good balance of realism and sentimentality plus a good tune and well written words.

Musical Christmas Gem 08

8. The magic of the night by Enya is one of several bonus tracks on certain special Christmas versions of the 2006 album Amarantine. This is one of four tracks still available on i-tunes that line up with Oiche Chiun (an Irish version of Silent Night also on i-tunes - her sister Moya Brennan does the same track elsewhere) to form Enya's Christmas output. This and Christmas Secret are originals. Enya works to a certain formula and these songs all work if you are willing to accept that. I must confess that it is difficult to take We wish you a Merry Christmas wholly seriously, especially when she sings 'We want some figgy pudding' in such earnest tones! She talks about the songs here. Here she makes reference to the joy of snow as a child. Perhaps her best 'Christmas' song is the marvellously evocative Amid the falling snow on Amarantine (How I remember sleepless nights When we would read by candlelight And on the windowpane outside A new world made of snow A million feathers falling down A million stars that touch the ground So many secrets to be found Amid the falling snow, etc). The track does occur with the other five I notice on an American Collector's CD illustrated here Sounds of the Season.

Musical Christmas Gem 07

7. Ring out, solstice bells is by Jethro Tull and was a 1976 single. This is a straight pagan take on the season but very attractive for all that, with that flute and bells, etc. The above is a rare promo animation from the time found on youtube. There is a whole album of Christmas fare from JT, which is well worth hearing.

A canal in winter van Ostade 1645

A canal in winter by Isaac van Ostade, Kenwood House, London

Musical Christmas Gem 06

6. Il Est Né / Ca Berger is by Anna McGarrigle, Kate McGarrigle & The Chieftains and is on the 1991 Chieftains album The Bells of Dublin.

I've long been a Chieftains fan and actually saw them perform once when I was a student in Aberystwyth. At some point they decided that instrumental music could be a bit boring and so they saw the way forward was to have just about anyone they fancied sing with them. On this their only (?) Christmas album they drag in not only the McGarrigle sisters but the Renaissance Singers of Belfast, Elvis Costello, Burgess Meredith, Marianne Faithfull, Nolwen Monjarret, The Voice Squad, Nanci Griffith, Jackson Browne, Rickie Lee Jones and Suzie Katayama. They also perform with the Northumbrian Pipe of Kathryn Tickell and the accordion of Brendan Begley and on their own. It's mostly carols and Christmas airs but some of it is not necessarily Christmassy. There are 23 tracks altogether, all good fun. The bells of Dublin themselves also feature. I got mine off i-tunes. The Wren in the Furze is another favourite.

The virgin birth

The Pulpit Commentary

“Christianity starts with a miracle. It is a miracle altogether so stupendous and so unique that its reception settles the whole question of the possibility of the miraculous. He who can believe that God shadowed himself to our apprehension in the likeness of a man, he who can recognise in the Babe of Bethlehem, both the Son of God and the Son of Mary, will find that no equal demand is ever afterwards made upon his faculty of faith. Both Testaments begin with a miracle. A world of order and beauty arising out of chaos is a miracle as truly as is the birth of a divinely human Saviour by the Divine overshadowing of Mary.”

(see here)

James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000)

“It is significant that the life of the Lord Jesus is bracketed by two great miracles. At the beginning is the virgin birth; He came into being without benefit of a human father, and so was the Son of God and son of man in a unique way. At the end is the resurrection: He conquers and transcends the greatest of all enemies, death. What clearer way did God have of drawing attention to this one who is unique in human history?”

(see here)

Silent night

I love these dream paintings. This one has it all - moonlight, snow, stars (one shooting), chimney smoke, glowing lights, a Christmas tree, a snowman, a steepled church,, etc, etc.

Musical Christmas Gem 05

5. In the bleak midwinter by Bert Jansch.

This 1974 single is a very pleasant rendition of Christina Rossetti's hymn by the well respected Scots folk guitarist who first came to prominence in the sixties with the group Pentangle (Light flight, etc). Also see here

I discovered this version of the hymn on tape 2 of the cassette version of The Best Christmas Album in the World ... Ever!

Death of Greg Lake December 2016

The death of Keith Emerson in March is followed now by the death of Greg Lake and just when his most famous song is being played everywhere. I love this arrangement of what is after all a partly anti-Christmas song and so in rather a strange place in some ways. I love Ian Andersn and his flute. Greg Lake once said "when you can buy anything you want and do anything you want, you soon discover that you don't actually want any of it".

Musical Christmas Gem 04

4. I believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake on an Emerson Lake and Palmer EP.

This Greg Lake single first came out in 1975. Each Christmas that I heard it I was drawn to it. Then one Christmas I saw the 1995 EP with this and other tracks in a big record store. I didn't buy it at the time (I show restraint sometimes) but sent for it from Amazon another Christmas. It has 5 tracks - 2 versions of IBIFC, a version of Prokofiev's Troika (by Keith Emerson and the tune that provides the musical theme for IBIFC), Humbug (B-side of IBIFC single - delightful, jazzy, near-instrumental) and Nutrocker - encore from the ELP album of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (based on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker so a Christmas number too).

The second version of IBIFC is a stripped down ELP version of the masterful Greg Lake single. This latter track has everything going for it as a Christmas single. First you get a beautiful 12-string guitar, a pleasant voice singing a pleasant tune. Then there's a distant choir, sleigh bells, some sort of bell/horn synthesiser to give atmosphere. Next, as we approach the final minute, timpani start, a large choir, an orchestra, military drums - all moving to a dramatic and powerful close. These are what hit you at first. Then you realise that the words (by one Pete Sinfield) are totally cynical. Poor old Pete has seen through the whole sham. No snow - only rain; no Father Christmas and (for him) no Jesus either. He tries to rescue it by wishing everyone a hopeful Christmas and a brave new year. This is highly post-modern - a song that makes you feel all "Christmassy" but that points out that the whole thing is a sham. I do believe in "the Israelite" but moaning about Christmas and enjoying it at the same time is great fun.

Musical Christmas Gem 03

3. Joy to the world by Peter Green and The Men in Blue on the 1997 album I Got the Blues for Christmas.

A Peter Green played guitar in Fleetwood Mac Mark 1 (Albatross, Man of the world, etc). I found this on i-tunes and assumed it was him but apparrently no.

It is a very nice bluesy instrumental nevertheless. I downloaded 5 of the 12 tracks. These are the instrumental ones I think. I'm not so convinced about the vocal offerings. The tune Antioch is a Lowell Mason arranged thing that is just brilliant anyway. Watts's words are not really on the incarnation but it seems to be very much associated with this time of year.

Personnel: Peter Green (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, acoustic & electric slide guitars, organ, synthesizer, bass); Brian "Bugs" Moran (vocals, keyboards, organ); Neil Burgett (vocals, synthesizer, drums); John Leddermann, Joe DeMaio (guitar); Bruce Kapler (saxophone); Frank Latorre (harmonica); Leighton Delgado (bass); Bill Fernande (drums); Tyronne Wisdom (background vocals).