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Saturday, December 24, 2011

A musical Christmas to you all

By the time you read this it will probably be Christmas Eve and, in the spirit of the season, I'm suspending Musical Stories for two weeks. This week, in a move that is neither surprising nor original, you get Christmas songs :-)

I love me some Last Christmas by Wham!, and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl is probably my favourite Christmas song of all time, but I've gone for two songs that, in my opinion, aren't played enough, and a third that I heard for the first time only this morning and knew I had to share. It was hard deciding which one to push out to make room for it, I can tell you :-)

The first song has been covered by many many people, and I spent a lot of time listening to various versions with the intention of bringing you something different. In the end though, I had to admit defeat. Nobody sings it quite as well as this woman!

I've loved the second song since I first heard it as a little girl. At that time, it never struck me as an odd pairing - I was about eight - I'd never heard of either of the singers. Since then, I've decided that whoever thought of putting these two together was a genius.

The last song was one I heard for the first time this morning on Sarah Wesson's blog, Earful of Cider. I think it struck a chord with me instantly, because my parents live abroad, along with my brother and his wife and three children. I feel the distance especially at this time of year. I wish I could be there with them, drinking white wine in the sun!

Whatever you celebrate, have a wonderful holiday. I truly hope that all of you can be with people you want to be with, doing things you want to.



   

 

39 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shout-out, Sarah!

    Have a lovely Christmas!

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  2. Have a great Christmas, Sarah. And thanks for being by 50th GFC Member! That was my first Christmas gift. :)

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  3. Loved the Tim Minchin - almost made me cry! Have a great Christmas, Sarah.

    (Have you heard his 'lullaby'? As funny as this is poignant.)

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  4. Love those! Merry Christmas, Sarah! May your holiday be as lovely as you are. :)

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  5. I'm sorry you're not with your family. But you still have all of us. Happy Christmas Sarah.

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  6. Sarah - Thanks for these delightful songs! I, too, wish you could be with your family. Even with modern technology, it's not the same. I wish you a joyful holiday and a wonderful new year. Thanks for lighting up blogdom as you do with your excellent blog :-).

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  7. The Bing Crosby/David Bowie one has been a favourite of mine for years.

    Have a great Christmas, Sarah!

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  8. Sarah, you're always showing me something I never heard before and ya know, once it has Bowie in it, I gotta have a look-see.

    Love the message in that one. Thanks! Happy Christmas to you and yours!

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  9. Nice selections. I remember the first time I saw the movies "Meet Me in St. Louis" and discovered where that song originated. I love Judy's rendition.

    And the the one with Der Bingle and David Bowie--another favorite.

    Merry Christmas!

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  10. I saw Judy Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli in concert a few years ago in December. She sang that song, and it was just beautiful to see.

    Merry Christmas Sarah, with wishes for peace and happiness in the New Year.

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  11. Bowie and Bing - now that's an unusual combination.

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  12. Tim Minchen came closest to the emotions and feelings of a lot of my friends, who love Christmas, but also have a lot of self loathing because they do not like what Christmas has become. What are we to do. If we spend less, we look cheap, if spend a lot we are burdening our budgets. Oh well- - -
    Great Post:)

    I wish you and your loved ones very merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year.

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  13. Judy Garlands version of that song gets to me every time. It makes me think of my grandfather and Christmas with him when I was very little. Gets me all emotional every time which is always an issue when I am in a store during the holidays and they play that song. Sniffly is not what people are expecting in line at the supermarket.

    Have a very merry Christmas Sarah!

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  14. Thanks for the music. :)

    Merry Christmas!

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  15. Thank you for sharing these beautiful Christmas songs with us. I sat here with a smile, listening and enjoying them. Bowie is one of my favorites. You're right, whoever put those two together is a genius. It's awesome! That last song is quirky, but very nice! So sorry some of your family lives so far from you. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Sarah!

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  16. Excellent choices Sarah. Loved the Bowie/Crosby duo especially.

    I hope you have a great Christmas.

    .......dhole

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  17. These were great. I never came across the last one.

    I hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend.

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  18. I wish you could be with your family this Christmas, Sarah.

    But you have your own children and hubby with whom you can cherished memories.

    And you know from my blog that Judy Garland is the only singer that evoke such poignant images and feelings within my heart.

    May this Christmas be healing and happy, Roland

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  19. Love Christmas music, but I usually try to avoid it until the week before Christmas because the radio stations around here play the same 12 songs (just using different artists). I don't know why they do this because there are soooo many great songs out there - new and old.

    Hope you had a great Christmas!

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  20. Happy Christmas for yesterday! Hope you had a special day.
    xx R

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  21. I have always loved the Bing Crosby/David Bowie duet. I remember seeing it on TV when I was a kid -- I'm not sure if I saw the original airing of it or if I was watching repeats. My mom remarked repeatedly on how strange it was to see these two men singing together. She made me understand how they represented such different generations.

    A lifetime favorite ...

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  22. Dropped by

    Just a reminder...that while you're enjoying your beautiful summer day...I will be dying in a muggy, hot, Florida.

    That should make you feel much better.

    |O)

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  23. Sarah, I hope you had a musical Christmas. I've been listening to golden oldies the whole time. Wonderful bopping away while we celebrate Christmas. So many good songs out there. Like good books.

    Thanks for your support in 2011. It was a happy day when you hit the blogosphere.

    Denise

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  24. I love Wham! That is my all time favorite Christmas song ever. My hubby cant figure out why I like it that much. but I love it. I'm sorry I've been gone for awhile. I took off a couple weeks and I missed your blog. You make me laugh. luv, erin

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  25. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Sarah. I listened to the David Bowie and Bing Crosby song again, and it's sooooooo beautiful. Now that I have relax a bit and really take it all in, gosh, I think I could listen to this every day. So inspiring and peaceful. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I'm going to listen to it one more time tonight! Haha. Just can't get enough of it!

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  26. Great choices, as always, Sarah. Love, love, love the David Bowie/Bing Crosby song. And the Tim Minchin song was new to me, too. Thanks so much for sharing it. Hope you had a lovely Christmas!

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  27. Shame to hear you couldn't be near family this time of year. Hope you still had a lovely Christmas & Boxing day all the same, with plenty of fun moments that brought you a smile. Maybe I'll get my act together before it's time to say Merry New Year!

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  28. Those are some awesome songs I hadn't heard before. Thanks for sharing them!

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  29. I had no idea Bowie and Bing recorded together. It's almost surreal!
    Wish I'd gotten here earlier but these are still great to listen to post-holidays. Have a great new year, Sarah!

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  30. Ahh these are prefect for the festive season:)

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  31. Ah I do love holiday music! I hope you had a wonderful holiday too. :)

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  32. I'm sorry your family are so far away Sarah, but I hope that you had a lovely Christmas. I love the effort you take to find and post these musical treats. Thank you.

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  33. Sarah W - You're very welcome. I just knew I had to use it :-)

    Colin - It was an absolute pleasure to join you :-)

    Jo - This was my first Tim Minchin. The girls have given me a list of songs to check out :-)

    Linda G - Aww, thank you so much.

    Anne - I do indeed! Have a great New Year, Anne.

    Margot - Thanks for those lovely words. They really mean a lot.

    Annalisa - It's truly wonderful, isn't it?

    Joy - Agreed. Who could bypass Bowie? Have a great New Year, Joy.

    Donna - I wanted to use Judy actually singing in the film, but embedding is disabled on all of them :-(

    Joanne - I'll have to hunt that clip down. Thank you, and have a wonderful New Year yourself.

    Diane - It probably shouldn't work, but it definitely does :-)

    Munir - Your words are so true. If only we could all agree to spend less and talk more.

    Beylit - I'm sorry I made you sniffly, but I hope the memories are good ones.

    Michael - Thank you. Hope you had a great day, and that your New Year is happy and peaceful.

    Golden Eagle - You're very welcome. Have a wonderful New Year :-)

    Lynn K - I'm so glad you enjoyed the songs. I love to share great music :-)

    Donna - They sound wonderful together, don't they? Have a great New Year, Donna.

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  34. Medeia - My holiday weekend was lovely, thank you. Hope you have a great New Year :-)

    Roland - Indeed. I don't have everything, but I am so lucky to have loved ones around me every day. Love and best wishes to you, Roland.

    Patsy - Thank you. Have a fantastic New Year :-)

    Vicki - I know exactly what you mean. I spend a lot of time searching for something just a bit less over-exposed :-)

    Rachel M - I had a wonderful day thank you. I know you did too :-)

    Dianne - I love the education your Mum gave you :-)

    Mac - Yeah, thanks Mac. I think it's minus 2 degrees or something right now :-)

    Denise - Oh yes, the old ones are definitely the best! And thank you for the lovely words. It's a pleasure to call myself your friend.

    Erin - There's just something so wonderfully 80's about Wham! isn't there? And never apologise for needing to take time off for real life :-)

    Lynn K - You made me laugh. I do that too, keep popping back for 'one more listen' :-)

    inluvwithwords - Glad you enjoyed them. I hope your Christmas was as lovely as mine :-)

    Steph - I did, thank you. Merry New Year to you too :-)

    Jenna - You're very welcome. Glad you enjoyed them :-)

    Melodie - It's never too late to enjoy good music! Happy New Year to you too :-)

    Tania - I'm glad you enjoyed them :-)

    Heather - Me too :-) I had a lovely day, thanks Heather.

    Rebecca - The kids and Techno made it special. I'm glad you enjoy these posts, I have such fun looking for songs :-)

    Sarah A - Isn't it just perfect? :-)

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  35. Love the songs, especially the Drummer Boy one. Thanks for sharing! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

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  36. Cherie - Sorry, I missed your comment! I did, thank you, although it seems a very long time ago :-)

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I happily answer all comments on my blog, and by email if it's not a 'noreply' address :-)