Carol of the Bells

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"Carol of the Bells" (also known as the "Ukrainian Bell Carol") was adapted from "Shchedryk" by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. It was a part of the Ukrainian National Chorus reportoire during its 1,000-plus concert tour around Europe and the Americas. It was introduced to American audiences on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Origins and translation

The song is originally a Ukrainian folk song that was written as a winter well-wishing song. "Shchedryk" "tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year that the family will have."[1] The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful." In Ukraine, the song is sung on the eve of the Julian New Year (January 13th). One popular (but inaccurate) interpretation is that the original Ukrainian song is based on an old Slavic legend that every bell in the world rang in honor of Jesus on the night of His birth. It is somewhat unusual among Christmas carols for its minor key, fast pace (the lyrics are sung very quickly, often to the point of being difficult to understand) and brevity.

The English language lyrics below were written in 1936 by Peter Wilhousky of NBC Radio. The song reminded Wilhousky of ringing bells and he captured that imagery in his lyrics.

[edit] In popular culture

The carol has been widely used in advertising, and humorous versions of it have appeared on South Park, Family Guy and Saturday Night Live. One famous use is in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, when the child Kevin McCallister is setting traps to catch the inept thieves Marv and Harry. Canadian band Barenaked Ladies performed a re-arranged version on their Christmas album Barenaked for the Holidays. It was also featured at the end of The West Wing episode Noël, when Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman & his assistant Donna Moss walk out of the front gates of the White House and stop to listen to a street choir performing the song. The song was also re-done in to a modern, techno dance mix by Producer / DJ Demonixx which has quickly become an underground cult classic. Indirectly, Carol of the Bells has become a staple of American radio during the holiday season. The song is a major part of the Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 medley recorded by Savatage and popularized by their side project, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, on their 1996 debut Christmas Eve and Other Stories.

In late 2006, the music was used in two commercials for Garmin.

[edit] Lyrics

Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away
Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold,
Ding dong ding dong
that is their song
with joyful ring
all caroling
One seems to hear
words of good cheer
from everywhere
filling the air
Oh how they pound,
raising the sound,
o'er hill and dale,
telling their tale,
Gaily they ring
while people sing
songs of good cheer,
Christmas is here,
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
On on they send,
on without end,
their joyful tone
to every home
Ding dong ding... dong!

[edit] References

  1. ^ Quote from Rice University News

[edit] External links

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