{"id":18595,"date":"2016-12-17T10:53:18","date_gmt":"2016-12-17T15:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=18595"},"modified":"2016-12-17T12:11:26","modified_gmt":"2016-12-17T17:11:26","slug":"a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2016-ed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2016-ed\/","title":{"rendered":"A <del>Quirky<\/del> Eclectic Christmas Mix (2016 Ed.)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intrinsic-container intrinsic-container-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yxDZjg_Igoc?rel=0\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p class=\"smalltext\"><em>[Video: &#8220;The Wexford Carol,&#8221; performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Kraus.]<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"float: right; width: 200px; padding: 1em; margin-left: 1em; font-size: 85%; border: 3px double brown;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 1em;\"><em>Want to visit the pages for earlier playlists, which include videos, other songs, and some background material not in the &#8220;official&#8221; current list? Here y&#8217;go:<\/em><\/p>\n<table style=\"margin: 0; padding: 0; font-size: 85%; border: 0;\">\n<tbody style=\"border: 0;\">\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-music-playlist\/\" target=\"_blank\">2008<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-music-playlist-2009-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2009<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2010-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2010<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2011-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2011<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2012-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2012<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2013-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2013<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2014-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2014<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/a-quirky-eclectic-christmas-mix-2015-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\">2015<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<span class=\"su-dropcap su-dropcap-style-light\" style=\"font-size:2em\">L<\/span>et&#8217;s get right to it:<\/p>\n<p>Per usual at this time of year, I&#8217;m adding ten songs to the previous years&#8217; selections. These are presented in two ways, in two separate little audio-player thingums:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The complete playlist &#8212; now up to ninety songs total (about four and three-quarters hours&#8217; worth).\n<ul>\n<li>The list plays straight through, from start to finish, in the order in which the songs were first presented here at <em>RAMH<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>&#8230;<em>but<\/em> you can also pop out the playlist into its own, compact window. This lets you proceed to read through the rest of the post or use your browser for something else &#8212; or close it altogether &#8212; while the music&#8217;s playing. (Note that the pop-out window will automatically begin playing.)<\/li>\n<li>If you&#8217;d prefer, you can also <em>shuffle<\/em> the complete list in random order, in a pop-out window, by clicking below:\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 500px;\">[popout font_family_1=&#8221;verdana&#8221; font_family_2=&#8221;lucida&#8221; width=&#8221;500px&#8221;<br \/>\ntracks=&#8221;Dialogue from &#8216;A Charlie Brown Christmas&#8217;@00_dialoguefromacharliebrownchristmas.mp3,<br \/>\nHodie Christus Natus Est@01_hodiechristusnatusest_anonymous4.mp3,<br \/>\nThree Spanish Villancicos\/Dadme Albricias@02_threespanishvillancicos_dadme_albricias_waverlyconsort.mp3,<br \/>\nHome for the Holidays@03_homefortheholidays_perrycomo.mp3,<br \/>\nJoy to the World@04_joytotheworld_mannheimsteamroller.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Holly and the Ivy@05_thehollyandtheivy_georgewinston.mp3,<br \/>\nO Holy Night@06_oholynight_celticwoman.mp3,<br \/>\n12 Days of Christmas@07_12daysofchristmas_denvermuppets.mp3,<br \/>\nNutty Jingle Bells@08_nuttyjinglebells_alhirt.mp3,<br \/>\nDeck the Halls@09_deckthehalls_theroches.mp3,<br \/>\nMary&#8217;s Boy Child@11_marysboychild_charlottechurch.mp3,<br \/>\nRiver@12_river_peyrouxlang.mp3,<br \/>\nVariations on the Kanon by Pachelbel@13_variationsonthekanonbypachelbel_georgewinston.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Toy Trumpet@14_thetoytrumpet_fiedler.mp3,<br \/>\nSanta Baby@15_santababy_earthakitt.mp3,<br \/>\nRudolph the Rednosed Reindeer@16_rudolphtherednosedreindeer_mannheimsteamroller.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Wexford Carol@17_thewexfordcarol_celticwoman.mp3,<br \/>\nJingle Bells@18_jinglebells_briansetzerorchestra.mp3,<br \/>\nI Saw Mommy Kissing Sanda Claus@19_isawmommykissingsantaclaus_jimmyboyd.mp3,<br \/>\nSilent Night@20_silentnight_cumberlandgapreunion.mp3,<br \/>\nCold Dark Night@21_colddarknight_samphillips.mp3,<br \/>\nBlue Christmas@22_bluechristmas_elvispresley.mp3,<br \/>\nGod Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen@23_godrestyemerrygentlemen_loreenamckennitt.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Chipmunk Song@24_thechipmunksong_thechipmunks.mp3,<br \/>\nHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas@25_haveyourselfamerrylittlechristmas_franksinatra.mp3,<br \/>\nIt Came Upon a Midnight Clear@26_itcameuponamidnightclear_londonphilharmonicorchestra.mp3,<br \/>\nWinter Creek@27_wintercreek_tonyelman.mp3,<br \/>\nToy Packaging@28_toypackaging_saragroves.mp3,<br \/>\nMary&#8217;s Boy Child@29_marysboychild_harrybelafonte.mp3,<br \/>\nRing Christmas Bells@30_ringchristmasbells_rayconniffsingers.mp3,<br \/>\nDig That Crazy Santa Claus@31_digthatcrazysantaclaus_ralphmarterie.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Christmas Song@32_thechristmassong_natkingcole.mp3,<br \/>\nIt Really Is (A Wonderful Life)@33_itreallyis_indigogirls.mp3,<br \/>\nSanta Claus Is Comin&#8217; to Town@34_santaclausiscomintotown_johnnymercer.mp3,<br \/>\nBaby It&#8217;s Cold Outside@35_babyitscoldoutside_deanmartin.mp3,<br \/>\nSleigh Ride@36_sleighride_ferranteandteicher.mp3,<br \/>\nShakana Santa Shake It@37_shakanasantashakeit_bodolliswildmagnolias.mp3,<br \/>\nSilver Bells@38_silverbells_neildiamond.mp3,<br \/>\nBranle de l&#8217;Officiel@39_branledelofficiel_tavernerconsort.mp3,<br \/>\nCarol of the Bells@40_carolofthebells_georgewinston.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Nutcracker: Overture@41_nutcrackeroverture_tilsonthomas_philharmonia.mp3,<br \/>\nO Tannenbaum@42_otannenbaum_vinceguaralditrio.mp3,<br \/>\nChristmas on the Moon@43_christmasonthemoon_troyhess.mp3,<br \/>\nI Wonder as I Wander@44_iwonderasiwander_barbrastreisand.mp3,<br \/>\nJingle Bells@45_jinglebells_franksinatra.mp3,<br \/>\nAve Maria@46_avemaria_alhirt.mp3,<br \/>\nChristmas Gumbo@47_christmasgumbo_artneville.mp3,<br \/>\nFrosty the Snowman@48_frostythesnowman_ellafitzgerald.mp3,<br \/>\nI&#8217;ll Be Home for Christmas@49_illbehomeforchristmas_deanmartin.mp3,<br \/>\nStille Nacht Heilige Nacht@50_stillenachtheiligenacht_choirofkingscollege.mp3,<br \/>\nChristmas Is Coming@51_christmasiscoming_knightsong.mp3,<br \/>\nPat-a-Pan@52_patapan_mannheimsteamroller.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Little Drummer Boy@53_thelittledrummerboy_viennaboyschoir.mp3,<br \/>\nHave Yourself a Merry Little Christmas@54_haveyourselfamerrylittlechristmas_toriamos.mp3,<br \/>\nThe First Noel@55_thefirstnoel_cumberlandgapreunion.mp3,<br \/>\nToy Symphony I: Allegro@56_toysymphonyiallegro_isoloistidizagrebantoniojanigro.mp3,<br \/>\nVenid Fieles Todos@57_venidfielestodos_liubamariahevia.mp3,<br \/>\nWhite Christmas@58_whitechristmas_corporalblossom.mp3,<br \/>\nO Holy Night@59_oholynight_perrycomo.mp3,<br \/>\nO\u00edche Chi\u00fain@60_oichechiuin_enya.mp3,<br \/>\nSome Children See Him@61_somechildrenseehim_georgewinston.mp3,<br \/>\nBaby It&#8217;s Cold Outside@62_babyitscoldoutside_sheandhim.mp3,<br \/>\nWinter Wonderland@63_winterwonderland_bingcrosby.mp3,<br \/>\nNuttin&#8217; for Christmas@64_nuttinforchristmas_barrygordon.mp3,<br \/>\nGo Tell It on the Mountain@65_gotellitonthemountain_mahaliajackson.mp3,<br \/>\nJingle Bell Rock@66_jinglebellrock_bobbyhelms.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Twelve Days of Christmas@67_thetwelvedaysofchristmas_rayconniff.mp3,<br \/>\nJingle Bells?@68_jinglebells_barbrastreisand.mp3,<br \/>\nLight of the Stable@69_lightofthestable_emmylouharris.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Nutcracker: Final Waltz@70_thenutcrackerfinalwaltz_bostonpops.mp3,<br \/>\nI Saw Three Ships@71_isawthreeships_mannheimsteamroller.mp3,<br \/>\nPatapan@72_patapan_julieandrews.mp3,<br \/>\nFairytale of New York@73_fairytaleofnewyork_pogues.mp3,<br \/>\nThe Twelve Gifts of Christmas@74_twelvegiftsofchristmas_allansherman.mp3,<br \/>\nGood King Wenceslas@75_goodkingwenceslas_loreenamckennitt.mp3,<br \/>\nRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer@76_rudolphtherednosedreindeer_perrycomo.mp3,<br \/>\nRockin&#8217; Around the Christmas Tree@77_rockinaroundthechristmastree_brendalee.mp3,<br \/>\nLet It Snow@78_letitsnow_lenahorne.mp3,<br \/>\nJesu Joy of Man&#8217;s Desiring@79_jesujoyofmansdesiring_chloeagnew.mp3,<br \/>\nSilent Night@80_silentnight_sleepingatlast.mp3,<br \/>\nHark the Herald Angels Sing@81_harktheheraldangelssing_mannheimsteamroller.mp3,<br \/>\nHome for the Holidays@82_homefortheholidays_robertgoulet.mp3,<br \/>\nChristmas Day in the Morning@83_christmasdayinthemorning_padraiginniuallachain.mp3,<br \/>\nMistletoe and Holly@84_mistletoeandholly_franksinatra.mp3,<br \/>\nChristmas Day Is Come@85_christmasdayiscome_caitrionaoleary.mp3,<br \/>\nOh Christmas Tree@86_ohchristmastree_bobbycliftonoechestra.mp3,<br \/>\nWizards in Winter@87_wizardsinwinter_transsiberianorchestra.mp3,<br \/>\nMeli Kalikimaka@88_melikalikimaka_bingcrosby.mp3,<br \/>\nIt Came Upon a Midnight Clear@89_itcameuponamidnightclear_kelsiesaison.mp3,<br \/>\nSilent Night@90_silentnight_celticwoman.mp3&#8243; captions=&#8221;Peter Robbins et al.;Anonymous 4;Waverly Consort;Perry Como;Mannheim Steamroller;George Winston;Celtic Woman;John Denver and the Muppets;Al Hirt;The Roches;Charlotte Church;Madeleine Peyroux\/k.d. lang;George Winston;Arthur Fiedler + The Boston Pops;Eartha Kitt;Mannheim Steamroller;Celtic Woman;The Brian Setzer Orchestra;Jimmy Boyd;Cumberland Gap Reunion;Sam Phillips;Elvis Presley;Loreena McKennitt;The Chipmunks;Frank Sinatra;London Philharmonic Orchestra;Tony Elman;Sara Groves;Harry Belafonte;Ray Conniff Singers;Ralph Marterie and His Band;Nat King Cole;The Indigo Girls;Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers;Dean Martin;Ferrante and Teicher;Bo Dollis + Wild Magnolias;Neil Diamond;Taverner Consort,Choir,+ Players (Andrew Parrott,conductor);George Winston;Michael Tilson-Thomas + Philharmonia Orchestra;Vince Guaraldi Trio;Troy Hess;Barbra Streisand;Frank Sinatra;Al Hirt;Art Neville;Ella Fitzgerald;Dean Martin;Choir of King&#8217;s College,Cambridge;Knightsong;Mannheim Steamroller;Vienna Boys&#8217; Choir;Tori Amos;Cumberland Gap Reunion;I Soloisti di Zagreb + Antonio Janigro;Liuba Mar\u00eda Hevia;Corporal Blossom;Perry Como;Enya;George Winston;She + Him;Bing Crosby;Barry Gordon;Mahalia Jackson;Bobby Helms;Ray Conniff Singers;Barbra Streisand;Emmylou Harris;Arthur Fiedler + The Boston Pops;Mannheim Steamroller;Julie Andrews;The Pogues (feat. Kirsty McColl);Allan Sherman;Loreena McKennitt;Perry Como;Brenda Lee;Lena Horne;Chloe Agnew;Sleeping at Last;Mannheim Steamroller;Robert Goulet;P\u00e1draig\u00edn N\u00ed Uallach\u00e1in;Frank Sinatra;Caitr\u00edona O&#8217;Leary and Rhiannon Giddens;Bobby Clifton Orchestra &#8211; Int&#8217;l Children&#8217;s Choir &#8211; Whitney Keys;Trans-Siberian Orchestra;Bing Crosby + The Andrews Sisters;Kelsie Saison;Celtic Woman&#8221; text=&#8221;Pop Out to Shuffle!&#8221; shuffle=&#8221;y&#8221; autoplay=&#8221;y&#8221; pos=&#8221;rel-C&#8221;]<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em>OR<\/em> you can simply play this year&#8217;s list of ten songs (about a half-hour in length). This is pretty straightforward: sequential order, no pop-out window, no shuffle mode.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"highlight\">In either case, or even if you don&#8217;t want to listen at all, you might want to glance at <a class=\"lyrics\" title=\"RAMH Christmas 2015 Songlist\" onclick=\"javascript:wopenScroll('https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/lyrics\/popoutsonglist.html', 'new', 525, 600); return false;\">the complete current list of song titles and performers<\/a>. (Note: this is just a listing; you cannot play music from it.)<\/p>\n<p>Okay, here are the two player doo-dads &#8212; the complete, followed by the current&#8230;<\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid brown; width: 75%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\n\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"border: 1px solid brown; width: 75%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\n\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/nancydawson_color.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full\" style=\"width: 40%;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/nancydawson_color_sm.jpg?ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><span class=\"su-dropcap su-dropcap-style-light\" style=\"font-size:2em\">O<\/span>ne song in particular has claimed my attention this year, <a rel=\"tag\" class=\"hashtag u-tag u-category\" href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/tag\/3\/\">#3<\/a> in the 2016 playlist: &#8220;On Christmas Day in the Morning.&#8221; Not at all because I didn&#8217;t already know the song, also often referred to by its first line (&#8220;I Saw Three Ships&#8221;). No, the main attraction for me has been the song&#8217;s <em>history<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"noteref\"><\/a>The tune itself is familiar enough; the same tune underlies children&#8217;s songs like &#8220;Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush&#8221; and &#8220;Here We Go Gathering Nuts in May.&#8221; [<a href=\"#note\"><strong>*<\/strong><\/a>] Because I knew that much, I&#8217;d always assumed it to be old &#8212; which it is &#8212; but I&#8217;d never imagined it could be so, well, <em>interesting<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest reference I can find to the tune, under any name, predates by many decades the &#8220;I Saw Three Ships\/Christmas Day in the Morning&#8221; song familiar to me: <a title=\"Traditional Tune Archive: 'Piss on the Grass' sheet music\" href=\"http:\/\/tunearch.org\/wiki\/Piss_on_the_Grass\" target=\"_blank\">sheet music for fiddle<\/a> (a &#8220;jig\/quadrille,&#8221; says that source) published in 1744, under the counter-intuitive title &#8220;Piss on the Grass.&#8221; (Alas, no lyrics!) That melody, wherever it came from, must have clung to popular sensibility &#8212; a mid-18th-century earworm: in 1759, it had a recurring role, so to speak, as a sort of intermission number in a Covent Garden revival of <em><a title=\"Wikipedia, on 'The Beggar's Opera'\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Beggar's_Opera\" target=\"_blank\">The Beggar&#8217;s Opera<\/a><\/em>, by John Gay. There it was simply called a hornpipe, a tune which we usually associate with sailors, following tradition. <a title=\"Wikipedia, on the association of sailors with the hornpipe\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hornpipe\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It is suggested that hornpipe as a dance began around the 16th century on English sailing vessels. However, this is urban myth, as the dance does not seem to have become associated with sailors until after 1740 when the dancer Yates performed &#8220;a hornpipe in the character of a Jack Tar&#8221; at Drury Lane Theatre, after which, in 1741 at Covent Garden we hear of &#8220;a hornpipe by a gentleman in the character of a sailor.&#8221; Movements were those familiar to sailors of that time: &#8220;looking out to sea&#8221; with the right hand to the forehead, then the left, lurching as in heavy weather, and giving the occasional rhythmic tug to their breeches both fore and aft.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>However, the performance of this hornpipe between acts of <em>The Beggar&#8217;s Opera<\/em> did not feature sailors: it featured a young woman, one (Miss) Nancy Dawson, pictured at above right.<\/p>\n<p>The Traditional Tune Archive has gathered <a title=\"Traditional Tune Archive, on Miss Nancy Dawson\" href=\"http:\/\/tunearch.org\/wiki\/Annotation:Nancy_Dawson_(1)\" target=\"_blank\">quite a bit of information<\/a> about Miss Nancy Dawson, and I refer you to that site for the details. The bottom line for me is that her rendition of the song was <em>so<\/em> popular that it became known as &#8220;Nancy Dawson&#8217;s Hornpipe,&#8221; or simply &#8220;Nancy Dawson.&#8221; She herself doesn&#8217;t seem to have been a singer, but eventually some lyrics were put to the tune. The Archive cites a couple of verses:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Of all the girls in our town,<br \/>\nThe red, the black, the fair, the brown,<br \/>\nThat dance and prance it up and down,<br \/>\nThere&#8217;s none like Nancy Dawson. etc.<\/p>\n<p>Her easy mien, her shape so neat,<br \/>\nShe foots, she trips, she looks so sweet;<br \/>\nHer every motion&#8217;s so complete,<br \/>\nI die for Nancy Dawson.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And, in a later version, this charming recasting of her as something of a lazy mess:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Nancy Dawson was so fine<br \/>\nShe wouldn&#8217;t get up to serve the swine;<br \/>\nShe lies in bed till eight or nine,<br \/>\nSo it&#8217;s Oh, poor Nancy Dawson.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<span class=\"su-dropcap su-dropcap-style-light\" style=\"font-size:2em\">B<\/span>ut what of &#8220;Three Ships\/Christmas Day&#8221; itself? Consider the lyrics, for starters.<\/p>\n<p>Says <a title=\"The Hymns and Carols of Christmas, on 'I Saw Three Ships'\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com\/Hymns_and_Carols\/i_saw_three_ships.htm\" target=\"_blank\">a site<\/a> which has much to say about many Christmas songs:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/cantussongsandfancies_forbes_the9ththsong.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full\" style=\"width: 25%;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/images\/cantussongsandfancies_forbes_the9ththsong_sm.jpg?ssl=1\" alt=\"John Forbes, Cantus: 'The IX. Song'\" \/><\/a>The legend about sailing into landlocked Bethlehem can be traced back to the 12th century when three ships brought the relics of the purported Wise Men to Koln, Germany. From this story evolved the English folk carol &#8220;I Saw Three Ships,&#8221; which, it is thought, comes from the 15th century. The &#8220;three ships&#8221; refers to the belief that there were three Wise Men &#8212; which comes from the number of gifts, although the number of Wise Men has been estimated from two to twelve over the centuries. Over the passage of time, the Holy Family was substituted for the Magi. Ian Bradley gives a version from Kent-Sussex which mentions sitting under a holly tree and two travelers &#8212; Mary and Joseph &#8212; journeying to Bethlehem to pay taxes.<\/p>\n<p>And, over the passage of time, as the text moved from village to village, and from country to country, the song acquired numerous different variations in texts and tunes (as seen above). According to Keyte and Parrott, editors of <em>The New Oxford Book of Carols<\/em>, the earliest printed text is from 1666 (John Forbes&#8217; <em>Cantus<\/em>, 2nd. ed.).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(I searched through a full-text version of Forbes&#8217;s <em>Cantus<\/em> <a title=\"Internet Archive: 'Cantus: Songs and Fancies...,' by John Forbes\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/cantussongsfanci00forb\" target=\"_blank\">at the Internet Archive<\/a>; as far as I can tell, the reference to &#8220;the earliest printed text&#8221; must point to what&#8217;s simply described as &#8220;The IX. Song.&#8221; It doesn&#8217;t fit the familiar tune very well &#8212; at all, really &#8212; but it&#8217;s the only song remotely referencing, for example, Bethlehem, Christ&#8217;s birth, and the number 3. (No ships, though. And certainly no Nancy Dawsons.) I&#8217;ve included a thumbnail version of the two pages in question above and to the right of the quotation; click the image to enlarge it.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<span class=\"su-dropcap su-dropcap-style-light\" style=\"font-size:2em\">W<\/span>hile not wanting to drag out this post much further, I did want to highlight one of my favorite &#8220;new music&#8221; finds featured in this year&#8217;s list, &#8220;Christmas Day Is Come.&#8221; You can read more about the album on which it appears <a title=\"Los Angeles Times: 'History sings as Caitriona O'Leary reclaims 'The Wexford Carols''\" href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/music\/la-et-ms-caitriona-oleary-wexford-carols-20141213-story.htm\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>, at the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em> site.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and finally, as ever &#8212; at this and any other time of year &#8212; thank you so much for visiting <em>Running After My Hat<\/em>. Best wishes for the year-end holiday, in whatever form that holiday takes for you!<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"note\"><\/a>______________<\/p>\n<p>* The first version of &#8220;Christmas Day in the Morning&#8221; which I remember hearing was an instrumental one, played by a muted trumpet. The sprightly tempo of this version, and the sound of this trumpet, reminded me a lot of <a title=\"YouTube: 'Leave It to Beaver' opening credits + theme song\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bMAi6JwxlGo\" target=\"_blank\">the theme music from a popular sitcom<\/a> at the time. They were so similar, in fact, that I imagined them to be the <em>same<\/em> song. I&#8217;m certain I shared this &#8220;fact&#8221; with numerous family members (to whom I apologize in retrospect for not being as smart as I&#8217;d thought&#8230; although I certainly talked the walk, so to speak.).<\/p>\n<p>And on the subject of the tune in general, although nothing to do with the Christmastime version(s), I learned some fascinating history about its use in Edward Albee&#8217;s <em>Who&#8217;s Afraid of Virginia Woolf<\/em> (both play and film). See <a title=\"Google Books: 'Love Me Tender: The Stories Behind the World's Favourite Songs,' by Max Cryer\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=E0QfmrqgbHwC&amp;pg=PA271&amp;lpg=PA271#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">this reference<\/a> for the general story (including a mention of &#8220;Piss on the Grass&#8221;); for more details, from the perspective of the lyricist who penned the words to Disney&#8217;s &#8220;Who&#8217;s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?,&#8221; see <a title=\"Google Books: 'Tin Pan Alley Girl: A Biography of Ann Ronell,' by Tighe E. Zimmers\" href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=R6g3D5GOa4EC&amp;pg=PA143#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\">this source<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>[<a href=\"#noteref\">back<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Video: &#8220;The Wexford Carol,&#8221; performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Kraus.] Want to visit the pages for earlier playlists, which include videos, other songs, and some background material not in the &#8220;official&#8221; current list? Here y&#8217;go: 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 et&#8217;s get right to it: Per usual at this time of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The annual playlist, now up to almost five hours' length: 'A Quirky -- well, no, let's say 'Eclectic' -- Christmas Mix (2016 Ed.)'","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[74],"tags":[27,845,2131,4460],"class_list":{"0":"post-18595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-christmas","9":"tag-christmas-music","10":"tag-eclectic-christmas-music","11":"tag-nancy-dawson","12":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/nancydawson_color_thumb.jpg?fit=400%2C532&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-4PV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18595"}],"version-history":[{"count":79,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21948,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18595\/revisions\/21948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}