Could someone, please, for the love of God, point me towards a traditional recording of this song? By traditional, I mean IT USES BELLS and PEOPLE SING THE WORDS. I have the Mannheim version, I have the Harry Connick, Jr version, I have 5 different versions. What I don’t have is one that actually plays the damn song on bells while people sing the chorale. iTunes, Amazon, don’t care. If I absolutely have to, I’ll buy an album.
The original is a capella. I’ve also heard it done exclusively on hand bells. I have not hear the traditional version done with bells and vocalists. I’m not exactly sure how you would do it, really.
I found one I liked while researching a parody I had to write to help out a victim of America’s longest war. I’ll include the knockoff with the link because, hey, you might as well blow your own horn, nobody else wants to put their lips on it…:
OPEN UP THE CELLS! (“Carol of the Bells”)
Look how the laws–
Millions of laws–
Grew out of touch:
Too big, too much.
This War on Drugs [background: Free – dom! Free – dom! etc.]
Turned cops to thugs.
Bad law incites
Loss of our rights.
Add up the cost,
Count all we’ve lost,
But look around:
Drugs still abound.
Millions are jailed.
Face it: You’ve failed.
Innocent folk
Just want to smoke.
Who can respect
Power unchecked?
Change–we’ll forgive,
Freely to live!
Spin, Earth! Revolve!
Peace will evolve!
Humanity
In harmony!
Time for us to reassert our freedom!
Time for us to reassert our freedom!
“Live Free Or Die!”–
These words we cry,
So life can be
Peaceful and free.
Free – dom! Free – dom! Free – dom! Free – dom! Freeeeee!
[Repeat]
A few years ago I went to a concert where this was performed a capella…in the original Ukrainian. Turns out the original is not really a Christmas carol.
The link goes to the anime video of Carol of the Bells A search on YouTube turns up one about cell phones.
On a personal note, Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” has ruined this song for me. Growing up, they sounded to similar to where my sister and I used to call “Carol of the Bells” that “satanic Christmas song.”