Friends of Christmas Present:
This is the seventh year my son Woody and I have recorded a Christmas Carol. Others we've done in years past:
2009 "Star of Bethlehem"
2010 "Silent Night"
2011 "Silver Bells"
2012 "Blue Christmas"
2013 "White Christmas"
2014 "Winter Wonderland "
This year we've recorded "The Friendly Beasts". Woody did the recording, mixing, and sang harmony vocal; Dad sang lead and played the guitar and bass. I used an 09 Martin Marquis and my fretless Rob Allen bass.
"The Friendly Beasts" is a traditional Christmas song about the gifts barn animals give to Jesus at the Nativity. It originated in 12th-century France, set to the melody of the Latin song "Orientis Partibus". The current English words were written by Robert Davis (1881-1950) in the 1920s. The song is also known as "The Song of the Ass", The Donkey Carol", "The Animal Carol", and "The Gift of the Animals."
Burl Ives included the song on his 1952 album “Christmas Day in the Morning”. Since then, it has been recorded by many other artists, including Harry Belafonte, The Harry Simeone Chorale, Johnny Cash (Belafonte and Cash use the title "The Gifts They Gave"), Risë Stevens, Danny Taddei, Peter, Paul & Mary, and Sufjan Stevens. Brian Stokes Mitchell in 2008 sang this song with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, complete with the donkey, cow, and sheep "voices". Garth Brooks recorded it on his 1992 platinum album “Beyond the Season”.
Woody and I got our version from the Louvin Brothers; their version is compelling; they grew up around barns and animals, and their touch is simple and earthy. Oddly, they sing Christmas Day instead of Christmas Morn, which interrupts the rhyme with “Horn”. Also, they changed the familiar “I said the dove” motif to “Thus said the dove”. Still, their version is undeniably saturated with heart. Woody and I did our best.
Please enjoy, and we wish everyone a happy and healthy Holiday Season!
To listen, click:
http://rattlesnakehill.org/Christmas/2015.html
Woody & Dad
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