faithMile

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5cX_ncZLls[/youtube]

Do They Know It’s Christmas – Band Aid

We are the world, but they were the world first. Many people are familiar with the multi-musician powerballad that Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie wrote. But they were commissioned by Harry Belafonte. And Harry Belafonte was inspired by this.

Bob Geldof was moved by news reports of the Ethiopian famine and decided to gather a group of musicians together to create this masterpiece. To my knowledge, this is the first time a group of famous musicians came together to create a single specifically for a charity benefit. It was a hit in both Europe and America. After completing Do They Know It’s Christmas, Geldof created a charity concert called Live Aid. This concert inspired Farm Aid and a multitude of other concerts for charity.

One of the most poignant lines in the song is “Well, tonight thank God it’s them instead of you,” which sardonically portrays the attitude of those who go about their lives without knowing or caring about the rest of the world. Perhaps not incidentally, that standout line was given to the lead singer of a then little-known band named U2. We now know that singer as Bono – perhaps the most outspoken musician for charity of our time. Although Bono has always had a good voice and good heart, this may be the experience that inspired him to put the two together and become much more than a musician.

This song was made in 1984 but it’s not too late to get involved in the giving. Click here to save lives this Christmas and all year long with World Vision.

Lyrics courtesy of TSRocks.com:

(lyrics and singer notes were contributed by chloe glass)

Paul Young
It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade

Boy George
And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy!
Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time

(Phil Collins on the drums)

George Micheal
But say a prayer – pray for the other ones
At Christmas time

Simon Le Bon
it’s hard, but when you’re having fun
There’s a world outside your window

Sting and Simon Le Bon
And it’s a world of dreaded fear
Where the only water flowing is a bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom

Bono
Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you

And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life

Where nothing ever grows
No rain or rivers flow

Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?

Here’s to you
Raise your glass for everyone
Here’s to them
Underneath that burning sun

Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?

Feed the world
Feed the world
Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmas time

Click Here for the Do They Know It’s Christmas Wikipedia page.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCnHJ5QqK4[/youtube]

The Coventry Carol – Alison Moyet

This is a beautiful, haunting Christmas ballad, but not a pretty or happy one. It tells of a story that is associated with Christmas, but foreshadows Christ’s death as well. In the Christmas story, wise men go to greet the newborn Christ, but King Herod also wants to greet him. Only Herod’s greeting is not to honor the child, but to kill him. Herod doesn’t know which child is the foretold messiah, so he decides to slaughter all newborn males under the age of two in the kingdom. This carol tells that story from the point of view of the mothers of those children.

Of course, Herod’s men don’t find Jesus, and so Mary doesn’t join in the mourning chorus of women. However, three decades later she will have occasion to join these women and say goodbye. I wonder if some of the people in the audience at the crucifixion who were yelling to crucify Christ were yelling not in anger, but in pain. Perhaps they realized that he was the one Herod was searching for when he killed their children. Maybe they wanted to see a miracle in order to know that their sons did not die in vain. Maybe they really hoped that he would save himself from the cross and justify their loss. And so they yelled “crucify him” because if their sons had to die, then so did Mary’s. Or save himself and prove who he was.

And perhaps, over the next week, when news of Christ’s missing body and sightings of him trickled through the town, these mothers were finally comforted.

Click here for the Coventry Carol wikipedia page, with history of the song itself.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F44d2IzCrKo[/youtube]

Carol of the Bells – Monique Daniels

What if you could combine the cheerfulness of Christmas with the dazzle of Independence Day? They did!

The Holdmans are an artistic bunch. They live in Pleasant Grove, Utah and their non-Christmas endeavors include photography and stained-glass making. What they are most famous for, however, are their annual Christmas displays.

This one happens to be my favorite, but you can see the rest at their website and on their Facebook page.