Wenceslaus was a real person, king of Bohemia in the 10th century. If you remember Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution in 1989, much of the action took place in Wenceslaus Square in Prague… named for this guy. He legalized Christianity in Bohemia, though he seems to have stayed away from the “Convert or lose your head” tactics many other kings used to get their subjects to become Christian. Anyway. Bohemian tradition would have it that he was a pretty good king for his day, and the Catholic Church made him a saint.
The story in the song is apocryphal, but the peasant’s actions are nothing unusual. Few people owned enough land to support a forest big enough to supply all the wood they needed through the winter, so most people would have to buy or gather wood for heating and cooking. And the guy is poor, so he has to do it himself. Why were there poor people in this “good king’s” realm? Because that’s the way it was in Europe at the time. If he had managed to single-handedly change that, we’d be singing about Amazingly Wonderful Brilliant King Wenceslaus, and that doesn’t really scan, does it?
“The Feast of Stephen” is St. Stephen’s day, 26 December. The king and his page (servant) are going out to bring meat and wine to this poor fellow. The page is exhausted from walking through the snow, and the king offers to do the hard work of breaking a trail. And because the king is such a holy guy, a miracle occurs - the footprints the king left in the snow are warm.
Hey, Archive Guy, do you know if “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” is another one of the war Christmas songs? It sounds like it to me - the singer, as I hear it, is only daydreaming about being able to come home for Christmas. Maybe a soldier who desperately wishes he could come home? Or someone separated from his/her family by the war for other reasons. At any rate, it doesn’t seem to be the cheery, upbeat song some make it out to be.
There are only three Christmas songs I like (being Pagan), and they are We Three Kings (because of the minor key), and Adeste Fideles and O Magnum Mysterium (“O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio, alleluia.”) because of the Latin.
“We three kings of orient are, trying to sell some cheap underwear, so fantastic, no elastic, just $3.99 a pair…”
Oh, I almost forgot All This Time! (“All this time this song is best, Verbum Caro Factum Est. This night there is a childe y-born, that sprang from Jesse’s thorn; we must sing and say thereforn, all this time this song is best, verbum caro factum est.”)
Indeed, der Bingle recorded “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” in 1943, a year after his supersmash “White Christmas”. And you’re right, although the melody is more upbeat and the words generally optimistic, there’s one line–“I’ll be home for Christmas/If only in my dreams”–that’s a haunting reminder of how many weren’t coming home any time soon (if at all).
Maybe I’m reading too much into the title, but the song you mentioned actually sounds good. Who wouldn’t want to be hanging out with the King?
The song I heard on the radio said something about the mother being with either Jesus or in heaven. And it sounded so sappy! It was playing on a top 40 type station, if that helps at all.
You know, I can’t STAND Rockapella, their smug faces, the Camren Sandiego thing… and then they made that commercial where they all love the tree so much the leave it in the forest and decorate it… they just make me want to retch.
I was always a fan of Ave <Maria… if sung really well. i have 2 great copies in my cd collection, one is Harry Connick Jr and one is (believe it or not) Chris Cornell.
During World War II my father was a guard in a P.O.W. camp. It was Christmastime, and the German prisoners were singing “O Tannenbaum”. A fellow guard became irate and started slapping some of the prisoners around. He wasn’t keen on the idea of them singing “German war songs”. My father disabused him: “You idiot! They’re singing 'O Christmas Tree!” After which, the other guy was very apologetic and shared his candy bars with the P.O.W.s.
Actually, Handel’s Messiah is both Christmas and Easter. It is divided into two parts (I believe the ‘break’ is at the instrumental interlude), and the “Hallelujah Chorus” is part of the ‘Easter’ section. Most performances include both the Christmas and Easter sections because, well, most people would feel cheated about hearing only the music, especially not hearing the “HC”.
However I’ll admit that I still don’t know this one.
In O Holy Night there is a line
long lay the world in sin and “aeropining”
What the heck is aeropining?
Is it anything like those Aeropostal clothes stores. Then I can where God my want to take advantage of these fabulous sales.
Others were talking Jesus Christ Superstar at Christmas instead of Easter.
I took until I moved to NYC to figure why they always played the Ten Commandments at Easter.
When I was but a lass, I also misunderstood “Winter Wonderland” lyrics:
“Later on, we’ll perspire, while we drink, by the fire…” I always thought it meant they were drinking hot chocolate by the fire and getting all hot and sweaty.
Good Christmas song lyric place: http://christmaswish.cjb.net/
Yes, in “O Holy Night”, it is “Long lay the world in sin and error pining,”
Should properly read:
…most people would feel cheated about hearing only half of the music, and especially not hearing the “HC”.
::note to self -
DayQuil = daytime
NyQuil = nighttime
On that same note:
<To the tune of “Winter Wonderland”>
Cars will pass,… seem ‘em glisten;
Hear them crash,… if you listen.
A horrible sight,
We’re slidin’ tonight,
Drivin’ in a Winter Wonderland.
Gone away… is the tarmac,
Someone side… swiped my car, mac!*
We’ll skid and we’ll pray,
Then call Triple-A**,
Drivin’ in a Winter Wonderland.
In the left lane, someone built a snowman.
We’ll pretend that he is Parson Brown.
Ask me if I’ll stop and I’ll say “No, man!”
“I’m gonna run the mm-mmmm mmmm-mm down!”
Later on,… we’ll perspire,
As we change… the flat tire.
We’ll moan and we’ll bitch
‘Cause we’re in the ditch, from
Drivin’ in a Winter Wonderland.
Okay, it’s a little lame. I’m on Ny-Quil for g*d’s sakes!
**for all you really northern folks, change this line to:
Then call C-A-A
Several composers have set the “Ave Maria” to music, most notably Franz Schubert (in German, not the Latin text; I believe it’s about a young woman who doesn’t want to get married and beseeches Virgin Mary to help her) The text starts “Ave Maria, Jungfrau mild” (and again, my Schubertliederbuch is at home).
You may also be be thinking of the Bach-Gounod “Ave Maria” - (music by J.S. Bach, arranged and Latin words added by Charles Gounod) - one of the more popular "AM"s. Several “Ave Maria” snippets
[hijack] I was just wondering if you people have heard the song White Trash Christmas I have and it’s hilarious but I cannot find the lyrics and was wondering if anyone else knoew where I could find them…[/hijack]
