Christmas music

Love the Pogues singing ‘Fairytale of New York’ and ‘Oh little town of Bethlehem’

My favourite Christmas Carol is o little town of Bethlehem, loved singing it at school. My favourite christmas song is every year , every Christmas by the great Luthor vandross perfect.

Popped back in when I remembered a little song MIL used to sing to my girls - The Little Boy that Santa Claus forgot. They would get quite upset and I’m sure she did it on purpose!
Little Drummer Boy - that should be banned, but perhaps some aren’t familiar with the Moors Murders link?

I sing in a choir and we have 20 carols each year!11 phew!
My favourite is oh holy night . But the new kid on the block carol of the bells comes a close second.

Georgesgran

Coming into the Christmas season - what’s your favourite music. Religious or not.
At school in the 60s, we sang Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar - no one seems to have heard of it.
A favourite of mine is Oh Holy Night - I love the key change for the chorus - but only performed by certain singers.

Love the traditional ones and we too sang Three Kings at school.

I love Oh Holy Night and I have the Phil Spector cd too and it's fab. It's the one that goes on when I'm putting up the tree with a wee Bailey's helping me along the way.

Sorry, Bellasnana.

Lots that I love have already been mentioned but not "2000 Miles" by the Pretenders - about being reunited at Christmas (particularly poignant this year) www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEyGZlBdkaA

Thank you, Paddyanne, I haven't heard that for a long time.

This is the first time in over forty years that I won't be in school at Christmas, I'm really missing all the joyful preparations for the Nativity, Carol service and Christmas concert.

I love Christmas hymns, Carols and pop songs..
A few favourites,
Adeste Fideles... I love the Latin,
Gaudete, more lovely Latin from Steeleye Span, I think?
O Holy Night
Away in a Manger... I'll really miss singing this with the Infants...
The Angel Gabriel...thank you, Bellasnona!
Winter Wonderland, Phil Spector Christmas songs,
Mary's Boy Child,
I wish it could be Christmas everyday.. Reminds me of DS1s first Christmas,
Santa Claus is coming to town,
Fairytale of New York,
and White Wine in the Sun, a more recent discovery, Tim Minchin's quirky but poignant song about family Christmas.

Thank you, Georgesgran, for this lovely thread.

One I cannot bear to hear is The Little Drummer Boy I love the Bing and David Bowie version- you wouldn't think their voices would go together so well.

But did you read on why I cannot bear to hear it elleks? Nothing to do with it not being a good song, whether sung by Bing and David Bowie or by anyone else. The most beautiful choir on earth would not be music to my ears if they sang that song

I see you are all saying We three kings from Persian lands S afar. I've always thought it was We three kings from Orient are. This may be because I was brought up in South Africa and that is how it was sung over there.
I love Silent Night, and Fairy Tale of New York. Oh and Once in Royal David's City!!
So many lovely carols its difficult to choose.

Many years ago I used to teach English in a College where none of the students had English as their first language. One year everyone sang Silent Night together in their mother tongue. It was truly beautiful and always reminds me of those days when I hear it sung.

I think its what ill miss this year- not hearing all the christmas songs when you troop round the shops& malls.they kind of get you in the mood for christmas.BUT- no trooping anywhere for me this year.Definitely not.???

Ah..little drummer boy- yes such a sad one.And Johnny Matthis', "when a child is born" ah lovely.

youtu.be/Y9vSNOyzbfo

There were loads of great christmas pop songs from back then and even the younger kids know them, from their parents playing them- but nowadays, theres none you can name or even barely remember- even my youngest two say so! (Aged 17&22) in fact the 22yr old prefers cd's to 'downloading'?

There are two albums I listen to every year ...on a loop.Thea Gilmore's Strange Communion and Sarah McLachlans Wintersong .If you haven't heard them you should check them out on Youtube .
I cant abide pop christmas stuff ,like someone upthread I used to work with Santa from mid November and it was Jingle bells all the way and Slade and Perry Como and every other song they drag out year on year .
These albums are different and both very special .I think I put Sol Invictus on here last year? The rest of the album is just as lovely .

King Obstinate. ‘How will Santa get in?’ - Is the title of the song I referred to in previous message. Worth a listen to cheer you up!

The BBC are idiots anyway....

Craftycat

Fairytale in New York by Kirstie McCall & The Pogues.
Not a traditional take on the season but a damn good song!! I have it on repeat on my car radio all December every year.

I agree; the voices are amazing.
One I cannot bear to hear is The Little Drummer Boy I love the Bing and David Bowie version- you wouldn't think their voices would go together so well.

Im not a great singer- but enjoy it!?

Is that similar to 'we 3 kings of orient are'?used to love going carol singing when we were kids- 3 or 4 or 5 of us friends used to go round (aged 13/14) near our neighbourhood carol singing nearly every night in december, & use money to buy small gifts for our families, but that was in late-ish 70's & a bit safer then i guess. I love a good christmas sing-song, wether carols or popsongs (old ones from 70's,80's,90's) Once they start showing christmas films on tv(usually late september onwards?) i can hardly stop bursting out in song.?

Not particularly my favourite but one that evokes wonderful memories is ‘Caribbean Christmas Carol’. ... the words begin with something along the lines of ... ‘ There are no reindeer in our country......’. The reason I love it? Several years ago our daughter was living in BVI and married out there. On her wedding day in June we drove around getting the last minute things done and she was joyous and singing this song at the top of her voice. I love that memory.

I have always loved Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar too

Chestnut

I've heard of Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar. In fact it was my favourite at school too!

Yes, I love carols, but there is a very tacky Christmas album which we always play on Christmas Day called 'A Very Merry Disco' by the Sleighriders. Oh the wonderful naffness of it!

Is that different from We Three Kings Of Orient Are?