# What's your favourite Christmas carol? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271 "2018-12-17T14:53:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/61 "2018-12-20T16:33:24Z")
**Hark the Herald Angels Sin** g. Virtually every version I’ve ever heard does the same cool arrangement: the “Joyful all…” part is sung in unison, then goes back to harmony for “ye nations rise”. And it sounds awesome. **Once in Royal David’s Cit** y…the version with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir + orchestra. Gives me chills. **Gesu Bambino** **How Great Our Joy** On the secular, Christmas “carol” side… **Sleigh Ride** and **Winter Wonderland** …neither of which actually mention Christmas. And the Temptations rendition of \*\*Rudolph \*\*is hecka cool. Darlene Love, **Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)** ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/62 "2018-12-20T17:08:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > ::World’s biggest fucking eyeroll:: > > 'Tis the season to nitpick a simple question to death. > My selection: In the Bleak Midwinter, sung by [Chanticleer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjRXIiZ8bs0) > > It’s excruciatingly poignant. 100% with you on all counts **ThelmaLou** ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/63 "2018-12-21T16:55:10Z")
“O Holy Night” for a true carol. It always transports me back to Christmas evenings, when I’d often find myself curled up in one of the rarely-used chairs in our “formal” sitting room, reading a new book or playing with a new toy, and listening to carols on the stereo. On the secular side, it’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and I can brook no disagreement. It’s just a masterpiece. It captures everything that matters in a sweet song that has somehow never grown stale or cloying. Also, I have to give some praise to George Winston’s album “December.” Beautifully evocative. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/64 "2018-12-21T17:03:39Z")
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a bitter, cynical song, not a sweet one. I take it you’ve never seen _Meet me in St. Louis_, where it comes from? ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/65 "2018-12-21T17:15:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a bitter, cynical song, not a sweet one. I take it you’ve never seen _Meet me in St. Louis_, where it comes from? I have. It’s bittersweet, not cynical. It’s a song sung by a sad adult trying to comfort a child. I take it you’re writing from the dimension where Big had an alternate ending, the Berenstein Bears delighted children, and Judy Garland actually sang the cynical original version instead of the much kinder rewrite? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/66 "2018-12-21T17:17:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a bitter, cynical song, not a sweet one. I take it you’ve never seen _Meet me in St. Louis_, where it comes from? Bitter and cynical? It’s melancholy or wistful. Not sure I have a favorite. Little Drummer Boy can touch my heartstrings after a few eggnogs and I’m not even religious. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/67 "2018-12-21T17:31:34Z")
_Veni, Veni, Emmanuel._ Because plainsong. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/68 "2018-12-22T23:52:22Z")
Probably Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I also really like Rise Up Shepherd and Follow. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/69 "2018-12-23T02:14:10Z")
I have long maintained that the only Christmas song that accurately captures the spirit of the holiday is [The Season’s Upon Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTx-sdR6Yzk). ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/70 "2018-12-23T02:40:52Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > For me it’s a tossup between “O Holy Night” and “What Child is This?” > > The problem with the latter in my denominations current hymnal is that it has softened up the song, and all three verses have the same chorus “This, this, is Christ the King…” I prefer the original wording for the second verse in particular. > > _Why lies He in such mean estate > Where ox and ass are feeding? > Good Christians fear for sinners here > The silent Word is pleading. > Nails, spear shall pierce Him through > The cross be borne for me, for you. > Hail, hail, the Word made flesh, > The Babe, the Son of Mary._ I love the alternate choruses for this song too. Here’s the third chorus: _Raise, raise, a song on high The Virgin sings her lullaby Joy, joy, for Christ is born The Babe, the Son of Mary._ ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/71 "2018-12-23T10:34:48Z")
I have a problem with “What Child Is This?”, for a rather silly reason. This carol (little-known here in the UK) is of course set to the tune “Greensleeves”. Creation of tune and original, secular words thereof: generally attributed to our King Henry VIII. I see a scenario of that irascible monarch being furious at the hijacking of his perfectly good love song, for a soppy bloody Christmas carol; and having the perpetrator clapped in the Tower, and given a dose of the rack to drive the lesson home… ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/72 "2018-12-23T11:43:56Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I have a problem with “What Child Is This?”, for a rather silly reason. This carol (little-known here in the UK) is of course set to the tune “Greensleeves”. Creation of tune and original, secular words thereof: generally attributed to our King Henry VIII. I see a scenario of that irascible monarch being furious at the hijacking of his perfectly good love song, for a soppy bloody Christmas carol; and having the perpetrator clapped in the Tower, and given a dose of the rack to drive the lesson home… It’s a [myth](http://www.classical-music.com/article/musical-life-king-henry-viii) that Henry VIII composed Greensleeves, though he did compose plenty of other good music. e.g. [Pastime with Good Company](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YcDFOu6qWw) [En Vray Amoure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJMc-GUyMqU) (dance music) [Green Groweth the Holly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGyyZO8OP6A) (Henry’s tune, but not [his lyrics](http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/greengroweth.htm).) ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/73 "2018-12-23T12:30:53Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > It’s a [myth](http://www.classical-music.com/article/musical-life-king-henry-viii) that Henry VIII composed Greensleeves, though he did compose plenty of other good music. Thank you ! Ignorance fought (though a cherished fantasy of mine bites the dust). ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/74 "2018-12-23T13:30:38Z")
_O Holy Night_ for the imagery, _Carol of the Bells_ for the music. Found a Christmas music channel on Roku the other day. One of the first songs it played was the previously unknown to me _You Ain’t Getting Shit for Christmas_, but I don’t think that’s a proper carol. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/75 "2018-12-23T15:06:49Z")
1. O Come Emmanuel\* 2. O Come All Ye Faithful 3. Of the Father’s Love Begotten I’m gonna give honorable mention to: O Little Town of Bethlehem It Came Upon a Midnight Clear because you can sing the words of either song to the tune of either song. \*technically an Advent carol, but since we mostly sing Christmas carols during Advent anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/76 "2018-12-23T21:35:19Z")
If we’re talking imagery, I’m fond of _The angel Gabriel from Heaven came His wings like drifted snow, his eyes like flame_ It’s just such a perfect picture in my mind, that I’d never be able to put on paper. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/77 "2018-12-24T01:42:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I kind of like that one. Kind of. But as a child, I didn’t like the 1968 Rankin/Bass Christmas special. Something about the way the kid’s lip was animated, or how very earnest they made him (which was the point, after all). I grew up with Santa Claus and Christmas trees. TLDB was just a bit too religious for me, even at that young age. Kind of spoiled the song for me. > > A couple/few months ago I watched _The Greatest Gift_ (1942) on TCM. It’s a retelling of _Le Jongleur de Notre Dame_, first published in 1892, and based on a medieval French legend. _The Little Drummer Boy_ is the same story, except that the ‘original’ involves a juggler-turned-monk who didn’t have a gift for the statue of the Virgin Mary. All he had was his ability to juggle. After fervently juggling for the statue (much to the consternation of the other monks), the statue comes to life and blesses him. Tomie DePaola has a children’s picture book with the same story, called _The Clown of God._ Makes me cry every time I read it. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/78 "2018-12-24T01:43:57Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Apropos of nothing: my mother liked to supply her own words to popular songs, to wit: > "Children roasting on an open fire, > “Jack Frost nipping at their toes.” > > Is it any wonder I turned out like I did? Everybody knows a turkey, I know three or four I work with them every day… ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/79 "2018-12-24T01:54:23Z")
If the song doesn’t need to be old, “Mary, Did You Know?” is wonderful. The level of poignancy is tripled when you realize the lyrics were written by one of the goofiest comedians around, Mark Lowry. I like so many carols and songs that I can’t necessarily name a favorite. Being a musician makes it harder: do I like that song because I like it, or because I perform it? Mr CK has arranged a version of “Carol of the Bells” that blends in “O Come O Come Emmanuel” this year. Straight No Chaser’s version of “We Three Kings” that incorporates the theme from “Mission Impossible” is also a great. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271/80 "2018-12-24T02:46:23Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > No thank you. I like Pentatonix, but not that one. I think most Christmas music can be reinterpreted with wonderful results. But not Carol of the Bells. Carol of the Bells is a perfect carol with a perfect arrangement. The Boston Pops video linked does it right. Any, and I mean ANY deviation from that arrangement totally destroys it. > [@CelticKnot](#): > > If the song doesn’t need to be old, “Mary, Did You Know?” is wonderful. The level of poignancy is tripled when you realize the lyrics were written by one of the goofiest comedians around, Mark Lowry. And even better was that when the whole “YES I KNEW!! The angel told me!.” thing was going around Mr. Lowry thought it was hilarious and shared it on his Facebook page. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-christmas-carol/826271.md?page=3)