Author: StgCoach

Retired teacher and public education leader. Pastoral musician, community activist, parliamentarian, and photographer.

Sing Along on the Ninth Day of Christmas

Today’s Christmas singalong song is the African-American spiritual “Go, Tell It on the Mountain.”

This could be a generic mountain photo, but it’s actually a shot of Mount Evans from a wonderful 2002 visit with family in Colorado. It’s the sort of place that makes you want to “tell it on the mountain.”

Like a lot of traditional songs, this one has a long history of use and adaptation. Peter, Paul, and Mary adapted the lyrics and sang it as a protest song. Simon and Garfunkel, nice Jewish boys from Brooklyn,1 performed it with the Christmas lyrics, although there is an alternate set of non-Christmas lyrics.

Since my selections so far have been pretty European, you may be pleased to see some variety.2 Gospel music isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse,3 but I’m working on it: on a Sunday earlier this year I got some nice responses at church after performing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”

And now, the lyrics:

     Chorus:
     Go, tell it on the mountain, 
     Over the hills, and everywhere.
     Go, tell it on the mountain
     That Jesus Christ is born!

While shepherds kept their watching
O'er silent flocks by night,
Behold, throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light.

     (Chorus)

The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! Above the Earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior's birth.

     (Chorus)

Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born,
And God sent us salvation
That blessed Christmas morn.

     (Chorus)

Click here for the recording.

Not sure what this is about? Click here!

Join us at https://lavezzi.us/ on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas to join in this virtual sing-along. Care to be a serial singer? Here you go:

Notes:

  1. Not complaining: we’re fortunate to have a long and wonderful history of Christian holiday music by Jewish artists. Remember “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade,” both by Irving Berlin. ↩
  2. Or not: some are sensitive to the appearance of cultural appropriation, although whatever I play I play with respect. ↩
  3. The proper style requires both flexibility and exuberance, neither of which comes easy to me. To make it easier for folks to sing along, I’ve been playing these recordings pretty close to the vest; I’ve continued that with this one. ↩

Sing Along on the Eighth Day of Christmas

John Masey Wright and John Rogers’ illustration of the poem, c. 1841

Happy New Year! The Eighth Day of Christmas is New Year’s Day. You can already guess today’s song, but chances are you’ve never sung the whole thing.

Wikipedia suggests that “‘for auld lang syne,’ as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as “for the sake of old times.” Usually we only hear the first verse of this song, which makes it seem both more sentimental and less substantial than it actually is. The Scots dialect of the original Robert Burns poem is nearly incomprehensible to us today, but today we’ll sing a pretty nice English version.

The stereotype of Scots is that they are supposed to be thrifty. You’ll notice that in the second stanza, the speaker never offers to actually buy the drink for his “trusty friend.” Nor does he expect his companion to buy for him. They’ll each buy their own, thank you. That “cup o’ kindness” only goes so far.

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?

     Chorus:
     For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,
     we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup! And surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

     (Chorus)

We two have run about the hills, and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.

     (Chorus)

We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne.

     (Chorus)

And there's a hand my trusty friend! And give me a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught, for auld lang syne.

     (Chorus)

Click here for the recording.

Not sure what this is about? Click here!

Join us at https://lavezzi.us/ on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas to join in this virtual sing-along. Care to be a serial singer? Here you go:

Sing Along on the Seventh Day of Christmas

It’s all about the figgy pudding.

https://www.food.com/recipe/figgy-pudding-337148 Chef James Thomas

Our sing-along for Thursday, December 31, is a song about extortion: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Somewhere I read that it once was a custom in Merry Olde England that the common people would invade the homes of their supposed “betters” at Christmastime and demand food and drink; if they were denied, they would trash the place. And evidently one trophy of these invasions would be a figgy pudding. You can find recipes all over the internet; it sounds pretty good, although for me it can never compete with Panettone.

We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

     Chorus:
     Good tidings we bring to you and your kin.
     We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
 
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding,
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding,
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding, and bring it right here
 
     (Chorus)
 
We won't go until we get some,
We won't go until we get some,
We won't go until we get some, so bring it right here.
 
     (Chorus)
 
We all like our figgy pudding,
We all like our figgy pudding, 
We all like our figgy pudding with all its good cheers.
 
     (Chorus)
 
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Click here for the recording. By the way, good luck singing the fourth stanza! It’s a bit of a tongue-twister.

Not sure what this is about? Click here!

Join us at https://lavezzi.us/ on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas to join in this virtual sing-along. Care to be a serial singer? Here you go: