Early Christmas Gift

[Timbuk3]

An early gift from me to you.

They said therell be snow at christmas
They said therell be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgins birth
I remember one christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
till I believed in the israelite
And I believed in father christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said therell be snow at christmas
They said therell be peace on earth
Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell
The christmas you get you deserve

http://www.timbuk3.com/I%20Believe%20In%20Father%20Christmas%20-%20Emerson%20-%20Lake%20&%20Palmer.mp3 (Right click and "save as", I won't leave it up for long.)

[elocs]

1. That is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Thanks for the lyrics. n/t

[Timbuk3]

4. I was looking for this song...

..."The Closing of the Year" (from "Toys"), and "Linus and Lucy". I'd written them all to a CD long ago and didn't keep such great records. I was so happy to find them that I thought I'd share them.

You folks are very welcome. It's about time I paid this place back for all the good ya'all have done for me.

[annabanana]

2. Well, THANK you!

What a nice present!

[JeffR]

3. Thanks. I love this song.

And you have one of the coolest user names on DU. I gotta go sample the dog.
:toast:

[elocs]

5. Here is some more info about the song from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Believe_in_Father_Christmas

"I Believe In Father Christmas is a song by Greg Lake (most famously a member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer ). Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song this was not Lake's intention. It is widely believed that Lake wrote the song in protest at the commercialization of Christmas and its effect on the middle east. Lake spent several months in this area and this may have been what inspired him to write the song.

The song is often mis-interpreted as an anti-religious song and, because of this, Lake was surprised at its success. He said in a Mojo magazine interview "I find it appalling when people say it's politically incorrect to talk about Christmas, you've got to talk about 'The Holiday Season.' Christmas was a time of family warmth and love. There was a feeling of forgiveness, acceptance. And I do believe in Father Christmas."

The song was recorded by Lake in 1974 and released separately from ELP, it is currently his only hit solo release. The original later appeared on the group's 1977 album Works Volume II. It has also appeared on several other ELP and Christmas compilation albums. Mostly notable of these re-releases is the 1995 album titled I Believe In Father Christmas which also featured a re-recorded version of the song by the whole band.

The video for this song contains shots of the Vietnam War which has led to complaints from some that it should not be shown with light-hearted Christmas songs. These images (such as dozens of rockets being launched from an apache helicopter) are a violent backdrop to a peaceful sounding song - creating a hard-hitting message.

The instrumental riff between verses comes from the "Troika" portion of Sergei Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije Suite" written for a 1934 film."

I've always thought that the bit from Sergei Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kije Suite" is a particularly memorable and catchy part of the song.

[Timbuk3]

6. Some more info

Mostly, this jibes with the wikipedia stuff, but some of the other comments are interesting, too.

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4121

[unhappycamper]

7. Thanks!