Saying Good-bye

The sad posts weren't supposed to start this soon, but as always, the universe had other plans for me.

On Saturday night, I got the call that my healthiest uncle was in the ER in critical condition. I started getting ready to head to Indianapolis in the wee hours, and in the meantime, fired off a text to two very sensible friends: "I can't lose someone else in February. Can. Not." They talked me down off the ledge, and it turned out that yes, in fact, I can: about 15 hours later, he was gone and I'm still very much here.

I keep banishing February and it keeps coming round again. This is the fourth family member that we've lost in February in four years, and that's only counting the ones I'm actually related to, because my extended family's other families (on both sides) have suffered losses in (or near) February the past few years, too. Winter sucks.

I let one of the baby cousins play with my
phone on Christmas Eve. Thank goodness.

Anyway. Today we say good-bye to a kind and gentle soul who somehow managed to cope for 45 years with the so-very-not-those-things family he married into. His cheerful demeanor and voice of reason are lost to us forever. He filled a deep need in the extended family, and I don't know that anyone will ever step into that void that he has left behind. We are bereft, and no one more so (naturally) than my auntie who has had him at her side for so long.

I've been trying to think of stories to share and I settled on a few, but most of them are recent and not from when I was a kid and saw him all the time. Because, I think, he's always been more of a constant presence than someone with whom I have a series of happenings to write about later. Always there, always ready for a chat, always going to be around forever. Until he wasn't.

Uncle Buster (not his given name, but that's what we call him) worked for Indiana DOT for years. Sometime around the third or fourth grade, we were assigned to interview someone for a report. Apparently I was already a budding transportation enthusiast, because I decided to interview Uncle Buster about highway things. I don't remember what we talked about, except that I was keen to know what the control boxes near traffic lights were called. Looking back now that I've become an active transportation advocate and a technical writer, I'm high-fiving both of us for having such a great idea.

It's ridiculous that all of my pics
of my family are from 15 years
ago, but whatever. My sweet little
flower girl is now in her first
year of college and has gotten
slightly taller since then.

Skipping ahead a few decades, I think Uncle Buster was pretty excited about Denise and I coming home (her for a visit, me to stay-ish) two summers ago. I was doing something in the deep recesses of Grandma's house a couple days after we arrived when there was a knock on the door, and she said "hello" in the voice she uses for strangers, so I thought it was a Jehovah's Witness or something. Then a familiar voice said, "I'm looking for a couple of girls!" and I screamed, "I'm coming!!" from wherever I was in case Grandma decided to call the cops before she realized who was standing in front of her. (She knows all of my dad's family very well and figured it out pretty quickly; she just didn't recognize him right away.) We ended up on the back porch talking about my bicycle for an hour while Grandma tried to get him to eat something. Poor Grandma and Denise were bored out of their minds having to hear us talk bike things.

Last May, I ran the Indy Mini and so did my oldest cousin's husband. He finished something like an hour ahead of me, and I didn't even know they were there until I got home and checked Facebook. That afternoon I got a phone call from Uncle Buster to ask how the race went, and he asked if I'd seen my cousin (his daughter) & her husband there. I said no, that he'd finished about an hour ahead of me and I never even laid eyes on either of them. Uncle Buster, who up until then was apparently confused about how running works, said, "But he's older than you!" Once I stopped laughing, I explained that any advantages a few years' younger runner may have, especially at our age, are easily overcome by things like training, genetics, better diet, longer legs, and not being 30 pounds overweight. I think he was reassured by that answer. Or perhaps he spent the rest of his days convinced that I'm the faster runner and last May was just a fluke.

Another recent visit home, sometime last spring, he asked how I'd gotten here and I told him I took the bus. He reacted like he'd never heard of public transportation, and then asked why I'd never told him I needed a car, because he would have helped me find one. I told him I don't need a car, and he said, "You just said you don't have a car."
Me: "I don't."
Him: "But I can help you get one."
Me: "I don't need one."
Him: "You just said you don't have one."
Me: "I don't."
This went on for a few minutes, me keeping it up just to see how long he would keep going, until my auntie finally couldn't take it any longer and told one or both of us to can it. We started talking something else, and she finally commented on my patience for long conversations with a man who could talk for America. I told her, "I was married to one of these, too," and she said, "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that." I dearly hope Chadwick and Buster run into one another on the other side. In eternity, they may finally get through all the words they always intended to say. (Unlikely.)

And finally... Uncle Buster and I had a nice chat for an hour or so on Christmas Eve. At one point, he asked me if I was a member of the Christian Singles Network in Cincinnati. (I don't even know if that's a thing, btw.) I asked him if he was high.
Him: "I'm serious!"
Me: "So am I!"
Him: "Well, but don't you want--"
Me: "No no no no no. Whatever is at the other end of that sentence, I do not want it. No."
Him: "... Well. Okay."
And then we moved on to something else. Airplanes, I think.

Goodnight and joy be to you, Buster. We'll see you on the other side.

(This video really does work, even though it's grey in some browsers. Go ahead and click.)

In My Mailbox

I got a new book in the mail yesterday.

This book came to me in one of those crazy experiences I keep having that make me wonder if this is real life. Once I've worked out whether I'm actually awake or not, I'll tell you all about it.

Kevin Tuerff, the author, is the basis of Kevin T, the character, in Come From Away, my current favorite show on Broadway. You can hear Kevin T (played by Chad Kimball), in this song, featuring "Channel of Peace," the song for which the book is named. While I've sung a version of St. Francis' prayer for years, it's never been with this tune (which is a real hymn, by the way), and I'm pretty bummed about that.

The Beat Goes On

After last week's weeping and gnashing of teeth over my run-less state, I got a few miles in. It was predictably unpleasant, as runs usually are after a break, but the good news is that this week will be better. Plus I have lots of motivation this week to get up and get it done-- Wimbledon starts in just a couple hours. Best two weeks of the year, coming right up!

Both my runs this week were without music, which I do from time to time. Having music is great, especially when I match my pace to the beat without realizing it, or when I need to switch off the thoughts in my head and it's there as a convenient subject change. Most of the time, though, it's just background and I'm not really hearing it.

July 4, 2009. Coming into the home
stretch, so I'm either listening to
"Wonderwall" or "Scotland the Brave."
I'm not sure if it makes me feel
better or worse about myself to look at
pics from when I was faster and skinnier
and happier. Either way, I set a 10-mile
PR that day that still stands.
Source: WTRC.

I found this out early on, that music can be a beat or a pleasant background sound without me giving it any serious concentration. There was a time that I tried listening to the Bible while running. You know what it feels like to run to the dulcet tones of Exodus? It feels like 40 years in the wilderness. But I didn't do any better with other audio books, either, so it's not entirely Moses' fault. Then a coworker told me that she prays while running, which would be great except it turns out my brain cells that are responsible for praying are the same ones responsible for keeping my feet going in a straight line on the sidewalk.

I wish I were joking about that. There has to be some kind of short-circuit happening up there. Surely not everyone has this problem--I mean, I know my coworker didn't. Is this a binary thing, like you can either do it successfully or you veer off the path, with no in between?

Anyway, to avoid laying down and dying in despair or dying from inadvertently running out into traffic, I decided it was best if I just let my brain work through whatever it needed to, and some background music was there on standby if needed. I've gotten through some amazing thoughts while running. I've written entire chapters of whatever novel I'm working on, only to promptly forget them when I get home (but usually the general idea remains). I've had whole arguments with people I'm feeling angsty towards so that I come home ready to let the angst go. I think of really kind things I want to be sure to say to friends, most of which are also immediately forgotten. (I've pondered the merits of taking along a dictaphone for these kinds of moments.) And what's really cool is when I'm deep in thought, thinking I'm not hearing the song that's playing, only to pass that spot a couple days later and think of the song. My brain is grabbing hold of something, after all.

I know when I go without running all those thoughts have no good outlet, but I don't really have a way to measure just how much benefit I'm getting from having that time to let my mind run wild. I just know that it's critical to keep my mind--and therefore myself--on an even keel. No matter what's happening in the background.

What keeps you balanced?

Again and Again and Again and Again

I had my Pandora set to one of my Irish stations at work yesterday and was singing along, as I do, when this song came up. I had to take a break because it came at the end of a long succession of sad songs--the bit about leaving a wife or sweetheart behind gets me every time. But that's okay, because crying at my desk is totally a thing I do now, even if it frightens the coworkers.

"Green Fields of France" is sad from beginning to end, not the least because its message of the never-ending nature of war. Willie McBride's death didn't help every generation since, no matter how badly he may have hoped it would:

But here in this graveyard that's still no man's land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation were butchered and damned

And I can't help but wonder oh Willy McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause
Did you really believe that this war would end wars
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing and dying it was all done in vain
Oh Willy McBride it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again

I learned this song from The High Kings, most likely on PBS, since that's where I tend to see The High Kings, but plenty of Irish bands sing it.



Related to my other interests: Someone's done a Les Misérables version of this song. Yes, please. Also, if you like The High Kings, see an entire show here (I believe this is the one that's usually on PBS).

Tell the Best Story

I seem to find a lot of use
for this photo.

I'm kind of a halfhearted podcast listener, because most of my hobbies are ones that engage my brain in such a way that I can't turn on a podcast at the same time and really give attention to what I'm listening to. However, when I remember, I start my day with Theater People (I know you're all surprised to hear that). Last weekend I listened to the interview with Kevin McCollum, who produced (among many, many others) Rent, Something Rotten, In the Heights, Motown the Musical... a whole bunch of things I like, in other words.

Towards the end, he said something that took my breath away with its depth of truth and I had to lie down just to absorb what he'd said. (See? This is why I'm not good at listening to podcasts.) And then write it down to share with you. This interview was last summer, before the election, but has only grown more relevant in the intervening months. (Emphasis is mine.)

When you take arts out of the public schools, those young people grow up to be adults, and they look at conflict resolution only in a sports model. And that's what we're seeing in our government. We have three branches of government, it's a balance of how we tell the best story, and that's called a collaborative art form. Our government is a collaborative art form. Unfortunately, when many of the people running our country were younger, arts were not valued in their communities, because of money. But sports were. So what do you learn in sports? To win games, you have to have a good defense. We are running this country purely on defensive tactics. We have to start having an imaginative storytelling: how do we live better as a world? America used to have the best story. If we're in a sports model, we're not telling a story. We're just trying to beat each other. Let's stop that. Let's get back to storytelling. Let's collaborate, because collaboration creates the bottom line, not money.

 He's not wrong, y'all. Not only is all this mentality of winning at all costs bringing us gridlock and wasted resources, not only is it contributing to the deep ideological divides that keep people from even having reasonable conversations with one another, but it's also only spurring folks to dig in to their positions even deeper and lob ever nastier shots at the other side. This is why the arts matter--why literature and music and painting and theatre and sculpture are worth our while. Because they expand our minds and open us up to other ways and ideas and points of view. Because they hold a mirror up to our humanity. Because they connect us to other people. Because they ask us to tell a story.

This project at the Guggenheim was meant to be
books that were never written. Don't let that be you.
Write your part of the story.

I had an incredible literature class my senior year of high school, and I couldn't even tell you the name of it or what the theme was now, but I do remember this: by the end of the semester, our teacher pointed out that as a result of the works we'd read and the discussions we'd had, every member of the class had come to see ourselves as artists. (She had asked for a show of hands to this effect on the first and last days of class.) This was the gift she gave us, as newly minted adults about to make our way in the wide world: she invited us to join in the great story of humanity and write our part.

I should look her up and send her a thank you.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

A somewhat stylized version of the visit of the Magi.
Image source: Bartek Ambrozik on freeimages.com.

"We Three Kings"

By: John Henry Hopkins, Jr

Written in: Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1857

I have thoughts: First of all, what kind of a ridiculous word is "twelfth," am I right? English is goofy. No wonder it's so hard for folks to learn it as a second language; plenty of people have trouble learning it as a first language. (The number of times I've said to my father, "How do you even come up with a sentence like that? You are a native English speaker." Apparently, he speaks some unknown dialect of Indiana English that is incomprehensible to even his own children.)

Where were we? Oh, yeah, the three kings. So, tonight is Twelfth Night, when the Three Kings visit children and leave presents (some families celebrate both Christmas and Three Kings Day, while others just choose one) in various cultures around the world. Tomorrow is Epiphany, when people will celebrate with King's Cakes, family dinners, and (for those of us who stick with tradition) taking down the Christmas tree. It is the final day of Christmas.

This is quite a sweeping overview I'm giving you, and doesn't even begin to capture the historical importance of Epiphany to the Christian calendar, so if you want to know more, the Wikipedia article is long and detailed and contains links to sources.

So, what better song for Twelfth Night than "We Three Kings"? Most folks will note that in the Biblical account there were three gifts, not three visitors, and that three gents undertaking such a journey without a big crowd with them is pretty unlikely. It's a song that draws heavily on legend and tradition, since we don't have a lot of information about these travellers.

Verse: The three middle verses describing the gifts, naturally, since those tend not to be sung much.

Born a king on Bethlehem's plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign.

Frankincense to offer have I.
Incense owns a Deity nigh.
Prayer and praising all men raising,
Worship Him, God on high.

Myrrh is mine: Its bitter perfume
Breaths a life of gathering gloom.
Sorrow, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in a stone-cold tomb.

Watch: Because I'm not turning down singing Hugh Jackman. Australians sure know how to party. Especially that bit toward the end when they get a bit prophetic about Hugh's future and start marching like it's "One Day More." (In case you're wondering--I did, so I looked it up--yes, Hugh Jackman is left-handed.)



And that brings this fun little series to an end. I hope you've had a delightful holiday season, no matter which day you chose to stop celebrating. Tomorrow we're back to my usual books, bikes, and buses.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Metro Lyrics

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

Chains shall he break, indeed.
Image source: Sigurd Decroos
on freeimages.com.

"O Holy Night"

By: Words by Placide Cappeau, music by Adolphe Adam. The translation we most often sing in English is by John Sullivan Dwight.

Written in: Roquemaure, France, in 1847

I have thoughts: So much love for this song. It's gorgeous. The third verse, my favourite one, is so spectacular and still so resonant in today's culture that I get a bit annoyed when people only sing verse one a couple of times and call it done. No, you're not done; break open that hymnal and give us the third verse, dangit. I wrote about the third verse to this song quite some time ago, and unfortunately I still say today what I said then: we aren't keeping our end of promise of the third verse. Chains shall HE break, yes, but "in His name all oppression shall cease."

Not to give in to despair, but when I look around me I all too often see a society that jumps at the chance to forge chains on others or break ties of friendship. Who is my brother or sister? Not the people who disagree with me, that's for sure. In fact, let's get on Facebook and call the other side dumb and complain about how they just don't get it and be sure to unfriend people who raise any objection. Facebook is the chosen battleground for airing why everyone else is wrong, it seems--people who I know for sure know better are drawing lines between one another that Jesus never drew, and it's heartbreaking.

Chains shall He break, everyone is a brother or sister, and oppression shall cease. Let's make that our goal for 2017, please?

Verse: The second verse is less well-known, but the third verse is my favourite, so today you get both.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from the Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weaknesses no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Watch: I asked for "O Holy Night" and YouTube gave me Hadley Fraser and Rosalie Craig. YouTube really gets me. (Although they don't sing the whole of the third verse, either. Grrr.)



Sources:
Wikipedia

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

Image source: Davide Guglielmo on
freeimages.com.

"Dona Nobis Pacem"

By: It's part of the Latin Mass

Written in: A long time ago indeed.

I have thoughts: Okay, you caught me. This song doesn't so much have verses as one sentence that's repeated many, many times. What can I say--I wanted at least one in Latin, this is my favourite, so here it is. Plus, it's not like praying for peace has ever passed out of necessity, and we need it today as much as we ever have.

Incidentally, I learned this song from M*A*S*H, and while the entire clip from the episode ("Dear Sis") doesn't seem to be hanging out on YouTube, the cast singing the song is on the first part of this video.

Verse: This is an easy one!

Dona nobis pacem, pacem
Dona nobis pacem.

Watch:



Sources:
Wikipedia

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

This photo is called
"Papai Noel de Bicicleta."
Y'all know I'm not about to
walk away from that.
Image source:
Juliana Castro on freeimages.com.

"The First Noel"

By: We don't know, but a bunch of folks had their hands on getting it to the form we sing today.

Written in: It was published in Cornwall in 1823, so... before that.

I have thoughts: I'm running out of ways to say "I love this song!" Although I suppose even that is redundant, because it's not like I'd include a song I hate in this little series, is it?

Verse: Verse five is the one I don't know, so here it is:

Then entered in those Wise men three
Full reverently upon their knee
And offered there in His presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

Watch: (I've never heard of Aldrich and James until I went looking for a video for this song. Holy smokes. Definitely want to hear more of them!)



Sources:
Wikipedia
Metro Lyrics

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

In the Biblical account and every dramatization I've ever
seen, the sheep remain remarkably calm throughout
the whole "angels in the sky" thing. Makes me wonder if
they'd met the angels before. "Oh, yeah, Gabriel.
 He likes these dramatic announcements. Gives him
a reason to wear his fancy angel robes."
Image source: A Berg on freeimages.com.

"Angels We Have Heard on High"

By: We don't know. The most widespread English translation is by James Chadwick.

Written in: We don't know that, either, except that it was in Languedoc, France, sometime before 1862. (There seem to be a great many things about Christmas carols that we don't know, which I suppose is appropriate for a holiday that was appropriated from a pagan feast in an unlikely season for Jesus to have been born, and which is presided over by a jolly and chubby version of a 4th century saint.)

I have thoughts: I love, love, love this song, not the least of which because it's great for altos to sing. We have our own melisma (I'm delighted there's a word for that!) in the chorus, which alternates with the sopranaos' more well known melismas. Also, I just love the tune in general. There are some Christmas tunes (see also "O Little Town of Bethlehem" or "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear") that seem haunting, more evocative of the long road that Mary and Joseph traveled and more foreshadowing of the lonely road ahead for Jesus. And this is one of those for me. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Verse: In the excellent film The Trouble with Angels, Mary Clancy is stuck at the convent over Christmas break and she sneaks into Christmas Eve Mass to watch the sisters. Reverend Mother sees her, of course, because Reverend Mother sees everything, but leaves her alone to watch instead of sending her away. This is the verse they're singing (if I recall correctly) during that scene. It's the third verse. (Incidentally, The Trouble with Angels is on my very short list of movies that I prefer to the books they're based on.)

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Watch:



Sources:
Wikipedia
Metro Lyrics

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

I'm fairly certain this is not the gentleman from the song.
Image source: Luca Cinacchio on freeimages.com.

"God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen"

By: We don't know.

Written in: We don't know that, either, but it was before 1760.

I have thoughts: It took me a long time to understand this song, because in my head when I was a kid I kept putting the comma in the wrong place, which as we all know changes the meaning of the phrase. As a result, I spent many years wondering how, exactly, one rested merry, and not only that, but how one could be object of this resting merry instead of the agent. I imagine I'm not the only weird kid who had this problem.

One of my favourite Christmas parodies of all time is based on this song. Keep scrolling; I stuck it at the end.

Verse: It's the rare short(ish) Christmas carol! Verse three seems the least familiar to me.

"Fear not, then," said the angel,
"Let nothing you affright;
This day is born a Savior
Of a pure virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in him
From Satan's power and might."

Watch:





Sources:
Wikipedia
Metro Lyrics

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

Image source: EveBlackwood on
freeimages.com.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

By: Lewis Redner

Written in: 1868

I have thoughts: There's nothing I don't love about this song.

Verse: Verses one, two, and five are the ones I usually hear sung, so here's verse three.

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

Watch:


Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymns and Carols of Christmas

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

These bells. Not the little dinky ones.
Image source: T Austin on
freeimages.com.

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

By: Words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Music (for the tune in the video below; there's more than one version) by John Baptiste Calkin.

Written in: 1863

I have thoughts: This was the song we sang in church that made me want to do this little series. I thought I knew the whole thing and then they threw a couple verses I didn't recognize at me.

Verse: This is verse three.

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Listen: The song starts at 6:03. Before that is more background about the song's origin.



Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymns and Carols of Christmas

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

As a Doctor Who fan, I'm a bit nervous of angel statues,
but what else could I possibly use for this song?
Image source: alberto cavazzano on freeimages.com.

"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear"

By: Edmund Sears

Written in: 1849

I have thoughts: I chose this one for today because today is my grandfather's birthday (he would have been 91). Not that Grandpa particularly liked this song; I don't know how he felt about it. Here's what I do know: there was a made-for-TV movie by the same name that came out in 1984, when I was six. He and I watched it together.

In the movie, a man dies a week before Christmas but protests when he gets to heaven that he needs more time with his grandson, so they give him until Christmas Eve. (That's what I remember. IMDB has more details.) At the end of the movie, the man dies for good, having spent his final week making his grandson's Christmas amazing. Also at the end of the movie, Grandpa and I were both crying.

So this song has made me think of him ever since, even though we never talked about that movie ever again. Isn't it amazing how I manage to make every freaking thing sad? Quick, name a happy thing and I'll see if I can sad it up for you.

Verse: I couldn't choose between verses three and four, so let's do both.

But with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love song which they bring; –
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing!

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Look now! for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing; –
Oh, rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing!

Watch:


Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymns and Carols of Christmas

On the Third Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

Before we start, it's my dad's birthday! He's old. Happy birthday, Dad!

Image source: Phillip Rothe on
freeimages.com.

"Do You Hear What I Hear"

By: Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker

Written in: October 1962

I have thoughts: I've never sung this song in a choir or caroling group or even in church. I'm kinda bummed about that.

Verse: I'm pretty sure all the verses in this song are well known, since it tells a story and if you leave a verse out the whole thing makes a little less sense, but let's go with the one Tim Hawkins made fun of (video of that is below the song down there. Just keep scrolling; you'll find it).

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy
Do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea

Watch:




Sources:
Wikipedia
Lyrics Mode

On the Second Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

It's hard to blame the poor page for getting cold. I'm cold
just looking at this. Image source: Abraham Chang
on freeimages.com.

"Good King Wenceslas"

By: John Mason Neale

Written in: 1853

I have thoughts: Does anybody know any of the verses of this song? I basically get to take my pick, right? By the way, the "Feast of Stephen" in the first verse happens to be today, December 26. I love it when a plan comes together. By many accounts Wenceslas was a good guy, just maybe not quite as good as the song says.

Verse: Tough one, because the final verse is so compelling, but here's the also-encouraging verse four:

"Sire, the night is darker now,
And the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, good my page;
Tread thou in them boldly;
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

Listen:


Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymns and Carols of Christmas

On the First Day of Christmas

For the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm sharing second, third, or otherwise not-first verses of popular Christmas carols.

What does this have to do with the
song? Not a thing. Image source:
alfonso diaz on freeimages.com.

"O Come O Come Emmanuel"

By: We don't know.

Written in: We don't know that, either. Oldest surviving publication is from 1710 in Cologne, Germany.

I have thoughts: I chose this one for the first day because it's usually associated with Advent, and today is obviously as close as we're going to get to Advent. I only learned this song about ten-ish years ago and loved it from the first time I heard it. (To say I "learned" it is to stretch a point. Without the words in front of me, I still kind of mumble along until we get to a line I know.) Also, this is not a song that was written for altos. Huff.

Verse: This song has verses without number, it seems, with potential alternates for most of them. This is what happens when you translate, and when a bunch of people really like a song and just keep adding to it. This is, according to the Lutheran hymnal, verse seven:

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

Watch:



Sources:
Wikipedia
Hymns and Carols of Christmas
Lutheran Hymnal

Second Verse

As pretty as this, "O Christmas Tree"
will not be one of the songs included.
Source: Julia Tikhonova on
freeimages.com.

For my own amusement, and in defiance of the fact that I've only just got my blog themes set again, I'm going to do a little thing for the 12 Days of Christmas (which starts tomorrow, December 25th, no matter what your local retailers or that one friend on Facebook say).

This is inspired partly by last Sunday at church, when we sang a verse I've never heard of a Christmas carol. That in itself isn't terribly unusual--some Christmas carols have like 15 verses--but it occurs to me that I may not be the only person who doesn't know more than a verse or two of a whole bunch of songs.

So! For the next 12 days, I'll share a verse--anything but the first one--to some of my favourite Christmas carols. We'll see if this turns out to be a good idea or just too much.

In the meantime, Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good, erm, day. I post these pretty early in the morning, and it's not nighttime yet.

Calling All the World to Come: #STCGarden

There's a photo booth at
the theatre. We weren't
about to walk past that.

Finally, the recap you've been waiting for: all the good bits of The Secret Garden. And seriously, if you're going to be in or near D.C. before the end of the year, please go see this show. It can only add more joy and light to your holiday season, and I say that as the woman who cried through the entire thing. Go. See it. Take the kids.

This was my first time ever seeing The Secret Garden. The show may have been around for 25 years, but what can I say? I haven't seen every musical yet. The only thing I knew about the musical version until a couple months ago was the song "Lily's Eyes," but if you have to go around having not seen the show, that's a pretty good part of it to know about. It's still my favourite song from the show.

If you're just now joining this little journey, you can also read about grief and healing in The Secret Garden, or my thoughts on Mary's parents in the book vs in the musical.

Many, many spoilers after the jump.

A Girl I Hardly Knew: Book Lennoxes v Musical Lennoxes

What's better than re-reading a beloved childhood book and discovering it's even better than you remember? Re-reading said book because you're about to see the musical based on it for the first time ever. I had so many tears on this re-read. Happy tears, unlike the torrents of agony I experienced at the musical.

Playbill & bookmark. Best of both worlds!
Playbill signed by the actors who played Mary, Colin,
Martha, Dickon, and Ben. The rest either didn't
come out stage door or ran away in a hurry when they
saw us. And the signatures got smudged. :(

The coolest thing about listening to The Secret Garden cast album and then re-reading the book? I could see how many lines in the show are lifted straight from Ms. Burnett's pages. Fantastic.

My only caveat before I hide a whole bunch of spoilers under the jump: this book was published in 1911. Mary moved from India to England. Many of the folks she met in Yorkshire had never seen a nonwhite person in their lives. Therefore, there are some blatantly racist statements in this book, and if your kids are going to read it, please please please be prepared to talk to them about that and don't let those statements stand unchallenged. It's definitely not okay for kids to come away from reading this book thinking those attitudes are acceptable.

Here goes. (BTW: I'm not a literary analysis person. For that you need an English major. This is just me stringing some thoughts together.)