Christmas song: Dear Little Stranger

I enjoyed this video of the old and not-often-heard Christmas song, "Dear Little Stranger".



The folk singer Kate Campbell does a beautiful version of this song on her album Wandering Strange. I like the connection of the Christ child with the stranger, the foreigner in this song.

The version on this video is apparently a medieval-style arrangement because it's from a Boar's Head Festival at Christ Church, Cincinnati. Their website has an interesting explanation of the tradition of the Boar's Head Festival.

Tags: christmas, christmas songs

Christmas songs Dec. 25

It wouldn't be Christmas without Little Boo. Here she's singing "Silent Night, Holy Night":



And it wouldn't be Christmas without The King, either. This is my favorite of his Christmas songs, "Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees", which I understand to be about a homeless person.



Hey, why not two from The King. This is "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me".



And since we're doing songs from pioneering figures in popular music, here's an unusual one from the Beatles, "Christmas Time Is Here Again". This was the Christmas song they did for their fan club in 1967, in the Magical Mystery Tour days. Julián Ruiz in El Mundo calls it "a little masterpiece" of which versions are still made by others. I find it's one of those songs that unexpectedly sticks in your head.



Tags: beatles, britney, britney spears, christmas songs, elvis presley

Dec. 24 Christmas songs

This is Jackson Browne's Christmas song, "The Rebel Jesus", performed by him with the Chieftains. The video part could fairly be described as, uh, static. But the song is great. The song actually ends at 3:48, but they've included the next instrumental track on the YouTube video.



This is Jewel singing, "Silent Night, Holy Night". I should add that the original is "Stille Nacht, Heilege Nacht", and it was written in the Austrian state (province) named Upper Austria. I really like Jewel's Christmas album. And listening to it reminds me I need to get to know some of her other music better. (A second or two at the start is missing.)



There's another version from Jewel in 2000 at this link but I like the first one better.

Okay, I know this is three "Silent Night" versions in this one post, but hey. This one is by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt. Both have fantastic voices.



This is John Lennon's 1971 "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)". Surprisingly - to me anyway - Julián Ruiz at El Mundo writes that this is the song that is most heard at Christmas all around the world. There's something incredibly fitting in that. He also says that the song is a "re-creation" of a popular song from the 18th century called "Skewball".



Tags: aaron neville, christmas songs, jackson browne, jewel, john lennon, linda ronstadt

The King celebrates Winter Solstice

This is the King singing "Winter Wonderland". It's played pretty much exclusively as a Christmas song, and El Mundo includes it on their list of 20 Christmas YouTube video songs. But it actually doesn't mention Christmas. Was Elvis part of the "War on Christmas"?!?



When you hear a song as much as I've heard this one, it's easy to take the lyrics for granted. But the key story in this song is this:

In the meadow we can build a snowman
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say, are you married? We'll say, no, man
But you can do the job when you're in town

It then goes on to talk about conspiring by the fire "to face unafraid the plans that we made".

So, just why would Parson Brown be so curious to know if they were married? And why should they need special resolve to "face unafraid" their presumably romantic plans made walking in the snow? Plans of which Parson Brown apparently disapproves. Just what is going on in this song?

Tags: christmas songs, elvis presley, winter wonderland

Crosby and Bowie, "Little Drummer Boy"

El Mundo's Julián Ruiz has provided us a convenient list of YouTube links for 20 canciones de Navidad (20 Christmas songs). Nineteen of the 20 are in English. (!!!)

This is one of my favorites, Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing "Little Drummer Boy" in harmony with another song that I believe is called "Peace on Earth". Ruiz' text says that the video was made for a 1977 television special. As fate would have it, the video was completed just a few days before Crosby passed away in Madrid due to a heart attack. So it's also a poignant part of his musical legacy.



Tags: bing crosby, christmas songs, david bowie

Light of the Stable

Emmylou Harris' Light of the Stable is still my favorite Christmas album. It was originally released in 1979, still the pre-CD era.

The cover art on the current CD edition (see above) was previously only available on a single version of the title song. I like the way the artist mixed elements of the story around. Instead of three wise men, three angels. Instead of angels in the field, the angels are in the stable.

A couple of the tunes are country-gospel favorites that you don't here very much, "Christmas Time's A-Coming" and "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem". The title song "Light of the Stable", I've only heard on this album, but it's a lovely song, and Emmy shows her ability to render it reverent but not stuffy.

Emmy is my favorite singer, so I can't claim to be very objective. But her versions of the well-known traditional hymns "O Little Town of Bethlehem", "The First Noel" and "Silent Night" are just outstanding. Her versions of "Little Drummer Boy" and "Away in a Manger" are also excellent. She gives "Away in a Manger" a poignant sound that fits well with the lyrics but gives lost in most versions because it's treated more like a lullaby.


Two less-familiar songs were included on the original album, "Golden Cradle" and "Angel Eyes". Both are good, but I was first familiar with "Angel Eyes" in the duet version she did with Willie Nelson, who sings harmony on this version. But I always thought it was more of a tribute to Emmy herself, although the "You can move the hearts of men" line could fit the Christ-child, too, though in a different way. I also like the lines in that song: "The ways of the world are feeble/Don't give up on simple people".

The current CD version includes three additional songs that presumably were recorded about the same time but never released before: "There's a Light", "Cherry Tree Carol" and "Man is An Island". As a hardcore Emmy fan, I'm glad to have the extra tracks. But in this case, as in others where "bonus" tracks are added, they don't necessarily add to the overall effect of the album.

Especially since I was used to the way it originally was. Christmas makes me nostaglic for the good ole days. When football was still the roughest thing on campus, and kids all still respected the college dean.

Tags: christmas songs, christmas songs, emmylou harris, light of the stable