A Week of Music
I grew up in a family where music was important. We all took piano lessons with some exceeding others in ability. Mother played cello from the time she was a small girl in Boston. I played (kind of) the violin. My brothers played trumpet and trombone. It seemed that there was always music of one kind or another playing in the house, whether it was the ear-wrenching sounds of practice, the sound of someone singing, or Mom's record player with everything from Baroque classics to the Singing Nun, and everything in between. And oh, I nearly forgot the years that Mama and I took up playing recorders. We had fun with those, especially at Christmas!
This week I am playing as much of my Christmas music as I can. I have a lot, and I have a lot of favorites. Some are serious and some are silly. For today, here is one of my three all-time favorite serious pieces: God Bless Us Everyone from the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol (to me the George C. Scott version is the only version). It is a little garbled on Youtube, so I have included the words below. And there is some strong truth in these words!
God Bless Us Everyone
(Music by Nick Bicat, lyrics by Tony Bicat)
The past of man is cold as ice:
He would not mend his ways.
He strove for silver in his heart
And gold in all his days.
His reason weak, his anger sharp,
And sorrow all his pay,
He went to church but once a year,
And that was Christmas Day.
The present man is full of flame:
He rushes here and there.
He turns away the orphan child,
The widow in her chair.
He eats for ten, he drinks for twelve,
Forgets how brief his stay,
And stands a-jingling of his coins,
In church on Christmas Day.
So grant us all a change of heart,
Rejoice for Mary’s son;
Pray, Peace on earth to all mankind,
God bless us everyone!
The man to come we do not know:
May he make peace on earth,
And live the glory of the Word,
The message of the birth,
And gather all the children in
To banish their dismay,
Lift up his heart among the bells
In church on Christmas Day.
So grant us all a change of heart,
Rejoice for Mary’s son;
Pray, Peace on earth to all mankind,
God bless us everyone!
(Music by Nick Bicat, lyrics by Tony Bicat)
The past of man is cold as ice:
He would not mend his ways.
He strove for silver in his heart
And gold in all his days.
His reason weak, his anger sharp,
And sorrow all his pay,
He went to church but once a year,
And that was Christmas Day.
The present man is full of flame:
He rushes here and there.
He turns away the orphan child,
The widow in her chair.
He eats for ten, he drinks for twelve,
Forgets how brief his stay,
And stands a-jingling of his coins,
In church on Christmas Day.
So grant us all a change of heart,
Rejoice for Mary’s son;
Pray, Peace on earth to all mankind,
God bless us everyone!
The man to come we do not know:
May he make peace on earth,
And live the glory of the Word,
The message of the birth,
And gather all the children in
To banish their dismay,
Lift up his heart among the bells
In church on Christmas Day.
So grant us all a change of heart,
Rejoice for Mary’s son;
Pray, Peace on earth to all mankind,
God bless us everyone!
God bless us everyone indeed!
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