Binky has a lovely post about favorite Christmas carols.
Here are some of mine... It's hard to pick because so many of them are brilliant.
4. The Little Drummer Boy. I remember watching some animated TV special when I was 7 and this song choked me up before I even knew what "choked up" was. Naturally the best version is with Bing Crosby and David Bowie.
3. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. Berlin was fantastic and this tune is the one for being away from family. I've been away a couple of times and it is so true that "i'll be there in my dreams". I generally don't have sad Christmas's when away, because I just think of all the great ones.
2. O Holy Night. You haven't lived until you come out to the late (11 pm!) Christmas Eve service at a small church back on PEI, and see the soloist (Doug Green) do this one up right. More than once, when he nails it, I have whispered, breathlessly, to myself that it was worth the entire trip home.
1. Christmas in Killarney. I can't believe this is #1. My sister and I used to play an ancient LP called Merry Christmas (NOT White Christmas) by Bing Crosby and the Andrews sisters. One side was devotional; the other side was secular. Many tunes had that big band sound. Two of them were so cheesy that I wonder if they were written especially for the album: Mele Kalikimaka (a Hawaiian romp) and Christmas in Killarney, an Irish wannabe. Both are incredibly cheesy but C in K is delightful.
and yours?
2 comments:
The more regal-sounding the carol, the better. Angels we have heard on high is a huge favorite. (Any song that breaks into Latin is a big hit with the me-- I'm very comfortable with my inner egghead!)
I love Little Drummer Boy and Do You Hear What I Hear? for more traditional songs. However, there have been a few recent ones that I really like - Christmas Spirit by Diamond Rio, Angels Among Us by Alabama and anything performed by Mannheim Steamroller.
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