Dadtodabone wrote:William Chatterton Dix when struck by a near fatal illness in 1866 and ensuing depression, spent his days focused on the condition of his spiritual rather his physical body. One of the happy consequences of his illness was the new lyrics he wrote to a traditional English melody Green Sleeves.
Dadtodabone posted this two years ago. I just listened to it again and I guess the versions I've heard before did not include all verses. This is a beautiful song and the arrangement is excellent.
Wolfgang wrote:Another favorite. It's a group called Celtic Thunder singing "Christmas 1915." It's based on an event (actually more than one event) from World War I. This video is a few years old now. The first fellow to sing in the video has passed away with cancer. Though one fellows voice is a little bit too "vibrato" for me, the others have great voices...and when they sing together their harmonies are outstanding.
Though I've read about this a few times and I've seen a documentary on it, I've never heard this song. I must say it prompts more than a little soul-searching.
Sing with men praising the one true God, drink and eat with them, clasp hands and tell family stories with broken English or German. Then kill them when the sun rises for no reason other than the fact that they wore a different uniform. Father forgive us.
After this event, most troops on "our" side of the trenches were transferred to different areas on the front lines. There was a concern they would not fight. Sadly, there was nothing to fear, the carnage continued. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not the least bit anti-war, but this event does give me pause.