Carols for Fun and Fundraising, 26-50

Here's Part 2 of the series that started yesterday. (When I wrote them down, although I've been known to vary it with other songs including some that aren't usually classified as Christmas carols, my carol-singing list came out to 125 songs.)

26. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear:

https://www.carols.org.uk/it_came_upon_a_midnight_clear.htm

27. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/g/gene+autry/rudolph+the+red+nosed+reindeer_20303666.html

28. Hark the Herald Angels Sing: For once, the Spanish version I learned is the one that seems to be popular online.

https://www.carols.org.uk/hark_the_herald_angels_sing.htm

http://www.musica.com/letras.asp?letra=2017572

29. Boar's Head Carol: Wikipedia explains the pork-free version...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar%27s_Head_Carol

30. Take Heart the Journey's Ended:

http://www.christmas-time.com/ct-town.htm

31. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem: Ralph Stanley recorded the official version:



http://www.lyrics.com/lyric/10257377

It's found in some mid-twentieth-century hymn books, and there's a Spanish version, but nobody seems to have posted the actual Spanish song online; what search engines turn up are computer translations. You may have to pay for the book, which seems to be going into the collector price range:



32. Patapan (old French, modern French, and English):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patapan

Extra link...I've never listened to it, but I liked the book this kid wrote:



33. We Wish You a Merry Christmas: Wikipedia gives four different English versions. The Spanish verse is too basic to be discovered by a web search. It consists of "Felices Navidades, felices Navidades, felices Navidades y un prospero Anno Nuevo."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Wish_You_a_Merry_Christmas

34. Carol Brothers Carol:

https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/carol_brothers_carol.htm

35. Les Anges dans Nos Campagnes: I learned the French version and two separate English versions. Wikipedia offers Gaelic, Chinese, and other translations as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_We_Have_Heard_on_High

36. Good King Wenceslas:

https://www.carols.org.uk/good_king_wenceslas.htm

37. Let It Snow:

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaelbuble/letitsnow.html

38. Wintertime Aglow: No celebrity artist has sold a popular recording of this one. It seems to be available mostly as sheet music. Nevertheless, if your school did not use the sheet music for Christmas concerts three years out of five, these links will help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg2bfiNfUNQ

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20150815230209AAz2YUw

39. Sleigh Ride:

http://www.metrolyrics.com/sleigh-ride-lyrics-amy-grant.html

40. The First Noel: Although this song is long enough for most people's purposes in English, there is a Spanish version.

https://www.carols.org.uk/the_first_noel.htm

http://spanish.about.com/library/weekly/blnavidad-noel.htm

There's also a parody:

"A B C D, E-e F G,
H I J K, M N O P,
Q R S T, U-oo-oo V,
and W and X, and Y and Z.
No L, no L, no L, no L,
This is the alphabet with no L."

41. Merry Merry Christmas:

http://www.laurasprairiehouse.com/music/silverlake/merrymerrychristmas.html

(This is a completely different song with the same title. I've never sung it.)

http://www.metrolyrics.com/merry-merry-christmas-lyrics-new-kids-on-the-block.html

42. The Friendly Beasts:

http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/f050.html

43. Little Stranger in the Manger: I don't remember who recorded the version I learned off the radio, but it's not quite the same as any of the versions I'm finding online.

http://www.classic-country-song-lyrics.com/littlestrangerinamangerlyricschords.html

http://www.spiritisup.com/littlestrangerbs.html

44. What Does Christmas Look Like Daddy: If you sing this one, you're using a different tune than the official one, which Red Sovine mostly recited against an instrumental rendition of the tune I use. Not a problem in my experience. For fundraising purposes, painfully sentimental is good.



45. Cantate Domino: The problem with finding this one online is that there are lots of traditional tunes for the first verses of Psalm 149 in Latin. I know that the first dozen or so things that came up when I searched for "Cantate Domino" weren't the one I had in mind. Monteverdi's tune is lovely but it's not the one I learned at school--doesn't even begin with the same Bible verse. I don't know whether the soundtrack for this version is the one I had in mind, either, since I can't actually listen to it.

http://cantusindex.org/id/920149

46. Kettles and Bells: There doesn't seem to be a web site that preserves the topical song about the Salvation Army that was released in 1979. At least I've not found it. And if the song were available online, it wouldn't be the version I sang when fundraising for the Salvation Army, because times had changed and I made up new verses. Should I not even mention this song here? What do you think? Or have you found a link to the original version? I want to know. Here's the refrain:

"Kettles and bells, kettles and bells,
Keep right on ringing those kettles and bells."

47. Away in a Manger: Only in the U.K. is it "always the first carol that children are taught." I heard it sung before high school, but learned it only in grade ten, possibly due to questions about its authorship and theological implications. (Wikipedia discusses the controversy...)

https://www.carols.org.uk/away_in_a_manger.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_in_a_manger

There is a Spanish version:

http://spanish.about.com/od/spanishchristmascarols/a/pesebre_song.htm

48. Nacio en un Pesebre: It's in the Spanish version of the Mennonite hymnal, but to find it online I had to stoop to Facebook. Search engines seem to prefer to point out that Jesus was not literally born in the manger, but born in the stable and laid in the manger. Anyway, this is not a translation of "Away in a Manger." It's an independent song with its own tune.

https://es-la.facebook.com/HimnosAAFCJ/posts/337616879737772

49. Many Stars Were Brightly Shining: Search engines don't like this one either. I can't find anything for the Spanish version (Cuan brillante las estrellas en la noche de Jesus, Cuando magos a lo lejos al velar Vieron una estrella nueva de tan refulgente luz...), although it's also in the Mennonite hymnal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEqRXsg9L5o

50. Go Tell It on the Mountain: This is one of those old traditional songs that everyone sings a slightly different way. I've collected eight verses from different books and records.