Who’d like a Musical Monday for our author advent window today? I always love a little bit of alliteration, so this title appeals to me but aside from that, I am sure you cannot have reached the second week of December without hearing Christmas music playing somewhere. I know that several retail outlets have been playing their Christmas soundtracks to our shopping for a while already. I did manage to get to the fourth of December before having to declare #Whamageddon this year, which is a few more days than I survived last year. For those of you who don’t know what that is, the object of the game is to see how far into December you can get without hearing Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ playing. Despite joining in with the spirit of this game, the track is one of my favourites and certainly it would be on my top ten list.
What Christmas tracks are your favourites? Chances are they include ones that take your mind back to significant memories. I started to think about this question - what would make my top ten, as well as which tracks just make me groan or turn off the radio channel. You probably have some of those too. I came up with the following Christmas hit list. They’re in no particular order and may not be my absolute favourite tracks, but each of them conjures up a memory or emotion that’s worth holding on to.
I'll explain a little further why this eclectic mix of songs has made it onto my festive list for my Musical Monday. 'Fairytale of New York' always reminds me of parties out with friends, singing along with alcohol-induced enthusiasm. It also reminds me of my son and a friend's performance at a High School Christmas Concert and that memory always brings a smile.
'All I Want for Christmas' is my husband's favourite Christmas track and 'Last Christmas' takes me back to our early days as a couple when he bought me a 12" copy of the single. 'One More Sleep' is a track that I always find myself singing along to in the car but I also look back a year to how proud I was when my daughter and her friend performed it as part of a Christmas show. That show proved to be the last one that I would direct before leaving the drama group that has been part of my life for almost twenty years.
'Wombling Merry Christmas' probably doesn't make it onto many lists like this but it reminds me of the Wombles concert that we were taken to as children. We thought it was great. I'm not sure how great it was for those wearing the Wombles costumes! The track still remains quite catchy, in my opinion. 'Driving Home for Christmas' is another one of those tracks that always sets the mood for Christmas. It makes me think of the time each year once the shops have all closed on Christmas Eve and whatever we might have forgotten to get will have to be gone without - a sort of calm descends upon me. Preparations are nearly done and the next two days are about the people who we gather around us, the rest is just trimmings. 'Merry Christmas Everybody' is another nod to childhood Christmas moments, to different generations having a good time together.
I have included 'It was on a Starry Night' but it could easily have been an alternative children's carol or nativity number. For me though, this one sums up my many years of teaching and getting children ready to shine in their tinsel or tea-towels, singing their hearts out and doing all the actions with gusto. I wonder if you remember any of your Primary School Christmas songs with fondness too?
The last two that make it on to this list are ones that come from favourite Christmas films. 'Mele Kalikimaka' is from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation film, which is one that is on our family's 'must watch' schedule. Not a year passes without us sitting down to watch this film at least once in the run up to Christmas. 'When Christmas Comes to Town' is a poignant moment from Polar Express and a beautiful song too.
There are many more musical highlights that I could put onto a Christmas list - the carols from Christmas Eve services or the party tracks that form the soundtrack to our Christmas dinner cooking. Music always has the ability to inspire, to connect, to bring joy and emotion. To complete my blog today, I have included a poem from my collection 'Polaroids and Petals.' It was inspired by a well-know track, not a Christmas one but the content of the poem references a whole host of memories from childhood and growing-up so it feels right to include it here.
Ordinary Moments
Knickerbocker Glory,
Here’s a little story
Of all the treats we used to like,
Back when we were kids.
R-Whites lemonade,
Radio hit-parade,
Ready with my cassette tapes
To catch all the best bits.
The Bay City Rollers,
Drinking Coca-Cola
From a glass bottle
With a red and white straw.
Coloured pencils in a tin,
Birthday at a Berni Inn,
Waiters serving up ice-cream,
Who could really ask for more?
Small, ordinary moments,
Memory embers burning,
Bringing back a yearning,
Small, ordinary moments,
With our hopes to light them
And our smiles ignite them.
French elastic, Rubik’s cube,
Trip to London on the tube,
Running off to chase the pigeons
Round Trafalgar Square.
Cartoons on the TV,
Friends coming round for tea,
Playing games of Star Wars
With Princess Leia hair.
Click-clacks and ra-ra skirt,
Bramble picking in the dirt,
Sandwich spread and orange squash,
Playing in the park.
Brownie Guides, a bag of chips,
Vinegar stays on my lips,
Running past the alleyways
When it was getting dark.
Small, ordinary moments,
Memory embers burning,
Bringing back a yearning,
Small, ordinary moments,
With our hopes to light them
And our smiles ignite them.
Inspired by Billy Joel’s song ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’
Karen Honnor - ‘Polaroids and Petals.’ 2021
Comments