Carols are good. Well, some carols are good. On an alcohol-fuelled work Christmas outing (Look, atheists can celebrate the winter solstice, OK?) I started a stupid meme about “What’s your favourite carol?”
(This started in the face of someone, who had previously seemed averagely sane, who announced himself to be a devotee of Cliff Richard’s Christmas oeuvre. Argh. You Americans really don’t know how lucky you are. You may never have heard Mistletoe and Wine. Just pray to the inhuman void or Toutatis or whoever that you never find out )
Results were Silent Night as clear winner. at more or less 4 to 1. There were two votes for In the Bleak Midwinter and one each for a random collection that included things like Away in a Manger and Little Donkey.
Given enough wine,. I might argue a case for the German version of Silent Night, but IMHO it must be In the Bleak Midwinter for the win.
It’s by Christina Rossetti. Some of the language is stunning. “Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.” It sings itself. Any urchins on my doorstep that go that extra mile and sing it are guaranteed a payout.
Well what’s the atheists’ favourite carol, then?
As an atheist, my favorites are:
Hark! No Herald Angels Sing
We Three Kings of Orient Aren’t
What Child Isn’t This?
I MIssed Three Ships Go Sailing By
Do You Hear What I Don’t?
The Little Freethinking Drummer Boy
Actually, my favorites are all those Old English ones: “Coventry Carol,” “Good King Wenceslaus,” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” Those are all great tunes.
“In the Bleak Midwinter” sounds too much like a 60s folk song for my taste. I must admit, I’ve never paid attention to the words because I don’t care much for the music.
Does “Jerusalem” qualify, or is that a hymn?
Salient
It was a poem by William Blake, not even a hymn really, more the expression of his unusual belief system (Jesus came to England, etc) It got set to music and somehow evolved into a hymn. It’s not about Christmas, it’s more about building Utopian socialism in Britain.
Exterminator
Maybe you’ve heard a different tune? 60s folk? We hear it as a standard Victorian carol tune, of the esame vintage as Good Kng Wenceslas, I think. (There’s a recording of King’s College Choir I also think).
Sociology still isnt a science you know… 😀
Thanks for the information, Heather.
Building utopian socialism in England? Egads! Does the Women’s Institute know this?! They sang it right through “Calendar Girls”.
Jesus came to England? It must have been en route to his visiting America. (You know that I’m being facetious, I trust.)
OK. Back to the carols question. I’d vote for Good King Wenceslas and The Little Drummer Boy, taratata tum.