Without wishing to diminish its spiritual message, or the sighing loveliness of its music, perhaps its grimness – poverty, austerity, people moaning about the weather – speaks to our tacit acceptance of the melancholy that lurks behind Christmas’s tinselly facade. In the Bleak Midwinter (1904)Īdapted by Gustav Holst from a poem by Christina Rossetti, this is the all-time classic gloom-laden carol. Hailing from Cornwall, and quite possibly 300 years older than the estimate above, the latter-day iteration of The First Noel is all about the slow build and the spectacular climax: it starts out relatively hushed, concentrating on the humility of the shepherds, but by its conclusion, it is all guns blazing and irresistibly uplifting. ‘The First Noel is all about the slow build and the spectacular climax.’ Photograph: Foodfolio/Alamy Emotionally wrenching, even disturbing, you can see why it has ended up in the file marked “use sparingly”. Eerie folk melody plus lyrics crammed with misery and woe, it’s not about the Nativity, but the Massacre of the Innocents, sung from the despairing point of view of a new mother. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is definitely in what you might describe as the Motörhead category. Some carols were clearly intended to create a contemplative space in which we are invited to consider the wonder of the Nativity, others were just designed to be belted out at maximum volume. The most popular latter-day melody, first used in the 19th century, is incredibly beautiful, lending itself to modern interpretations by indie bands and Enya alike. Possibly the oldest carol here, with its roots in eighth- or ninth-century monastic singing, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is, strictly speaking, an Advent hymn that’s been co-opted for Christmas. Oh, how lovely and, just out of interest, did you keep the receipt? 11. We Three Kings (1857)Ī winning combination of sombre verses with a big old chorus, and intrigue provided by the arrival in verse four of Balthazar, whose explanation of his gift seems only to make matters worse: “Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom”. Regularly incorrectly punctuated – “God rest you merry” is a Shakespearean phrase meaning “God grant you happiness” – and these days performed with two verses excised (they just bang on about shepherds, we’re not missing much), God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen is cheery and induces a warm glow, despite the complaints of an 1820s journalist, who called it “doggerel”. The tune, a dependable source of bountiful good cheer, repurposes a 13th-century Easter carol. If anything, the hagiography of Good King Wenceslas dials the story down a bit: in some accounts, Saint Wenceslas was out in the snow, barefoot, every night as an act of penance. The lyrics are a bit showy – their author, George Ratcliffe Woodward, apparently “delighted in archaic poetry”, which rather suggests he was the kind of person who uses the word “methinks” in every day conversation – but no matter: the melismatic “gloria” provides suitable euphoria. This is a secular tune, from a 16th-century book of French dances, repurposed. But banish the spectre of Alan Partridge playing the latter in his car: Gaudete is powerful and faintly ominous. Sometimes you just want to celebrate the magic of feeling smitten without all the messiness, kay? (And honestly, these bops are better for dancing and lip-syncing into your hairbrush, anyway.) Ahead, the most romantic songs from 2022, including new tracks from Phoebe Bridgers, Harry Styles, The Weeknd, and more.Not really a Christmas service singalong – lyrics in Latin presumably being beyond the tipsier attenders of midnight mass – Gaudete is best-known today in Steeleye Span’s 1973 hit a cappella version. However! Before you go hating on feel-good love tracks, keep in mind just how few there are compared to Sad Girl Songs™ about unrequited, lost, and broken love. Sure, if you’re recovering from a breakup then you’d probably rather listen to your dad snoring all night than a mushy love song (IYKYK). Need a lil serotonin boost? The best new love songs of 2022 are sure to give you heart-eyes (and may even have you grooving down the street like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer, complete with your own make-believe flash mob). A happy love ballad is like a rom-com for your ears, and even if you’re v much not about ~luv~ rn, sappy ’n’ sweet songs have a way of turning your day right around. So IDC how cynical or single you are-you’ve gotta admit that great love songs slap no matter what.
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