Christmas songs
They usually accompany us throughout December. They resound in homes, cars and shopping malls, reminding us of the upcoming holidays and putting us in a good mood. Just like they are inextricably linked with Christmas, although due to the lack of religious content they are much more universal. They often refer to values such as goodness, love or friendship, they talk about joy, broadly understood happiness and time spent with loved ones. However, they are much younger than Christmas carols; secular Christmas songs began to appear only in the 1930s. The most famous Christmas songs include:
- “Santa Claus is coming to Town” – one of the oldest and most popular Christmas songs, it was created by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1934, the first performer was Eddie Cantor, it has already been interpreted by over 200 artists,
- “Winter Wonderland” – an undisputed hit written by Felix Bernard and Richard Bernhard Smith in 1934, the first performer was Joey Nash, but Guy Lombardo’s interpretation brought him popularity,
- “White Christmas” – a song by Irving Berlin from 1941, first performed in the film “The Christmas Inn” by Bing Crosby and Martha Mears (the film won an Oscar for best song),
- “I’ll be Home for Christmas” – written in 1943, its authors were Walter Kent, Kim Gannon and Buck Ram,
- “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” – Judy Garland song from 1943, written for the musical “Meet You in St. Louis” by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin,
- “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” – written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé, its first performer was Nat King Cole,
- “It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas” – a song by Meredith Willson from 1951, first performed by Perry Como, but the interpretation by Bing Crosby and later Michael Bublé gained popularity,
- “Jingle Bell Rock” – a song by Bobby Helms, written in 1954 by Joe Beal and Jim Boothe, with music created by Cliff Parman,
- “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” – a hit created in 1958, whose first performer was Brenda Lee,
- “A Holly Jolly Christmas” – Johnny Marks song from 1962, sung by Burl Ives,
- “It’s the most Wonderful Time of the Year” – song from 1963 sung by Andy Williams,
- “Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano’s hit from 1970, with a new version by Michael Bublé from 2011,
- “Wonderful Christmastime” – Paul McCartney’s hit from 1979,
- “Thank God it’s Christmas” – a 1984 song by Queen, written by Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Polish Christmas song
Polish music is not as popular as English-language hits, but in Polish music we can also find catchy melodies combined with universal content. During the holiday season, radio speakers may broadcast:
- “Snow everywhere” – a song from the repertoire of Kabaret Starskich Panów, first performed by Kalina Jędrusik in 1965, also popular in the 1999 version performed by Anna Maria Jopek with the voice of Jeremi Przybora,
- “One day a year” – a hit from the Czerwone Gitary repertoire, written in 1966 by Seweryn Krajewski and Krzysztof Dzikowski,
- “The sleigh ride bursts from the hooves” – a song from the repertoire of the band Skaldowie, composed by Andrzej Zieliński to the words of Andrzej Bianusz in 1968, which is in fact not a Christmas song,
- “There will be a carol” – a pastoral from the Skaldów repertoire from 1968, with music by Andrzej Zieliński and words by Wojciech Młynarski,
- “It’s snowing” – composition by Rafał Paczkowski to words by Jacek Cygan from Krzysztof Antkowiak’s album “Zakazany Fruit” from 1989, later performed with Ryszard Rynkowski, and in 1995 recorded in a duet with Edyta Górniak,
- “Today hope is born” – Christmas song by Ryszard Rynkowski with words by Jacek Cygan from 1995,
- “A Christmas Carol for the Absent” – a song sung by Beata Rybotycka from 1997, with music by Zbigniew Preisner and lyrics by Szymon Mucha,
- “Who knows?” – hit by De Su from 2000,
- “Ding dong” – a song from Kayah’s repertoire created in 2008,
- “Hey guys, Christmas is coming” – a song from the repertoire of the band Varius Manx, written by Robert Janson with lyrics by Jacek Cygan in 2011,
- “The Big Christmas Kiss” – song by Andrzej Piaseczny and Seweryn Krajewski from 2012,
- “First star” – TGD’s hit from 2015,
- “A Poem for Christmas” – a song sung in 2018 by Grzegorz Turnau.
Christmas Songs: Christmas isn’t always the theme
they differ in content, some talk about preparations for Christmas, others about winter landscapes, and in still others Santa Claus appears. These types of songs include titles such as:
- “Santa Baby” Earthy Kitt (1953)
- “Merry Christmas Everyone” Shakin’ Stevens (1985)
- “Driving Home for Christmas” Chris Rea (1986)
- “Mistletoe and Wine” Cliff Richard (1988)
- “All I want for Christmas is You” Mariah Carey (1994)
- “Christmas Time (Don’t let the Bells End)” by The Darkness (2003)
- “Underneath the Tree” Kelly Clarkson (2013)
- “Santa’s Coming for Us” Sil (2017).
Interestingly, songs that originally had nothing to do with Christmas are also considered Christmas. These are titles such as:
- “Jingle Bells” (song written by James Pierpont in 1850, made popular by Bing Crosby’s jazz version from 1943)
- “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (written by Frank Loesser in 1944)
- “Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!” Jule Styne (1945)
- “Frosty the Snowman” (written by Walter Rollins and Steve Nelson in 1950)
- “Happy Christmas (War is over)” John Lennon and Yoko Ono (1971)
- “Last Christmas” by the duo Wham! (1984).
See also:
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
