Memories in Christmas Music
Tonight, I was listening to Christmas music while riding around in the car. My mind always wanders back to Christmases past when listening to it and tonight was no different. It is at this time of year I miss my parents and having a close family the most. If it were up to me, I'd spend every Christmas in 1970, as that was the last one when I had both parents and siblings nearby.
Certain Christmas songs bring back particular memories of people or events. Below, is an incomplete list of songs and some memories associated with them.
O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
This one reminds me of my mother, as I remember her telling me of how she'd been chosen to sing that song in Latin when she'd been in the choir in school as a kid.
Little Drummer Boy
This one reminds me of my best friend when I lived in Massachusetts. He and I used to sing the "rum pa pum pum" part as "rub your bum bum" while simultaneously rubbing our asses. You have to remember we were only about seven years old at the time. He later died in a car crash in 1980, just shy of being 22.
Charlie Brown Christmas Theme
This reminds me of my high school best friend and his family. The laid back, mellow jazz sound of this song just kind of fits how it felt being around their family.
Silver Bells
This one reminds me of going to center city Philadelphia to see the Christmas lights in the late sixties and of seeing the Salvation Army Band out on the street playing Christmas carols on trumpets and trombones. Nowadays, they only have people out ringing bells at Christmas, which makes me miss the band.
Let It Snow
When I was in the high school band, we did a medley of Christmas songs as part of our marching routine. I remember the band director getting put out at this one girl who kept pushing her hair back every time the wind blew it out of place. He finally sang, "Let it blow, let it blow, let it blow", to the tune of Let It Snow.
Over the River and Through the Woods
This reminds me of spending Christmas with my grandmother's sister as a little kid. At that time, I lived far from my one remaining grandmother and she was the closest thing to a grandmother I had at the time.
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
Jingle Bell Rock
Both these songs remind me of the Christmas parties my parents had when I was a kid in the sixties. Jingle Bell Rock also reminds me of this girl who sang it in a purposely off key voice at work about five years ago and made everyone laugh.
Jingle Bells
At around ten years old, I'd sing this as:
Riding down the road
In a cracked-up Chevrolet
O'er the roads we go
Traffic all the way
Horns on cars honk
Making traffic slow
Oh what fun it is to sing
This traffic song tonight
Oh, Jingle Bells
Santa smells
A million miles away
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a cracked-up Chevrolet!
There are more, but these are the first that came to mind. What memories do certain Christmas songs evoke in you?
You posted some great memories W. I love Christmas music, one of my
favorites is Carol of the Bells. My parents had a record and I listened to
that song over and over again. Growing up around here, my parents had a
Ruth Lyons record, which I now have a CD of, I love listening to that
music, lots of great memories from my childhood.
"The Little Drummer Boy" was one of my favorites as a kid. We had it on
vinyl and it was always the first Christmas song I would play when we
started decorating the house and Christmas music was allowed.
I love Christmas carols, too! The Little Drummer Boy was my mother's
favorite. I love the rather dramatic quality of Oh, Holy Night. When I
was a kid, we used to sing all through the Christmas season, my mom singing
harmony and me melody. In college, I sang The Messiah with our choir and
the Air Force Academy Choir in the AFA chapel. It was incredible.
I'm on day 4 of having "O Holy Night" in my head. I can't get over how
beautifully it was performed. Apparently, I'm not the only one, 'cause I
tagged it and my site visits have gone through the roof with people looking
for the same rendition. I love "Silent Night" a whole lot too. Peace,
darlin'. Bundle up 'cause the cold is comin'.
I like the Johnny Mathis version of O Holy Night, the best. And seeing
that one serious scene in Home Alone, with the lonely old man sitting alone
in the church as the choir practiced O Holy Night, cemented that song in my
mind.
My Mom’s favorite song was “Do you see what I see” She would always tell me
I was her “little lamb”. I miss her the most when I hear it. I like the
version of Little drummer boy/Peace on Earth sung by Bing Crosby and David
Bowie. It was the last Christmas special I saw with both my Mom and Dad
before my Mom passed away. It was the last Christmas I had with my family.
This time of year makes me long for having a “normal” family too. I don’t
think people realize what you all lose when your parents leave you at an
early age. Like the saying goes, “Time heals all wounds”. I think
holidays kind of rip the scabs off!
My favorite has always been Little Drummer Boy, the very best version of it
I have ever heard was by Michael McDermott, I downloaded it off one of his
pages years ago, and listen to it year round. Profoundly moving.
I always liked that one because (even though I never believed the whole story) it seemed to me he gave the best gift. Everybody else brought gold, and STUFF, the Little Drummer Boy gave of his soul, playing his heart out. To me that always resonated.
