Best Ever Xmas Carols When You Don't Like Xmas Carols

[Mrs Trellis]

It's hard not to sing "and they've all got pox on" to Cranbrook

 

[shotlighter]

There' s always the school boy version;
While Shepherds washed their socks by night
All seated on some dynamite
Light the fuse & you will see
The quickest way to the cemetery.

As sung in my junior school & no doubt countless others.🙂

 

[Roger W]

One of my favourites (and was Margot's, too) in the original Gaelic:

 

[Babyhagrid]

There' s always the school boy version;
While Shepherds washed their socks by night
All seated on some dynamite
Light the fuse & you will see
The quickest way to the cemetery.

As sung in my junior school & no doubt countless others.🙂

Or this

Whilst Shepherds wash their socks by night
All seated round the tub
The angel of the lord came down
And gave them all a scrub

 

[badger]

Oh, and one more thing... That drummer deserves a sharp thump on the head, for playing a traditionally slung snare drum, with a matched-grip. Sacrilege...

Bit of a shame since to my knowledge they are a Christian gospel rock band.

 

[Graigwen]

Traditional village carols are anything but saccharine. They are usually sung in pubs and belted out with a drink in hand. These were sung in taverns and on street corners as they weren't allowed in church. There are over 300 tunes for While Shepherds - the CofE tune Winchester Old was never sung until recently.

Imho the best tune for While Shepherds is "Old Foster" , the second best "Lyngham" which is usual in metal mining/Methodist areas like north Derbyshire and Cornwall.

I will certainly agree with you about "Old Foster". I have an old vinyl recording of it from The Fountain, Ingbirchworth. I found this on You Tube:
Old Foster

 

[AR]

I will certainly agree with you about "Old Foster". I have an old vinyl recording of it from The Fountain, Ingbirchworth. I found this on You Tube:
Old Foster

The Fountain was where I first heard "proper" carolling at the age of 15 and it was a revelation! I've got the selfsame album, "A People's Carol", where Ian Russell first publicised the South Pennine carolling tradition to the wider world.
As for good tunes to sing "While Shepherds" to, I'm very fond of the Peak District standard tune "Buckley" (also known as the Bradda tune or "Leadmill"), and my grandad's favourite was what he called "Long Drop", that's known as "Christmas" at Hathersage and used for "Mount Zion" in the Sheffield sings.
Here's the Eyam classic version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" -

and here's the Foolow carol "Marshall", tune written by a lead miner and sung by me down a lead mine while keeping the tradition of t'owd man's candle up back in 2016 -

 

[JAshley73]

Bit of a shame since to my knowledge they are a Christian gospel rock band.

From one Bible believing Christian, they're part of the problem too...

In fact, I get more upset by "Christian" music, entertainers, etc, than I do at secular music in many cases. They water down the message of the Gospel with crappy lyrics, cheap tunes, and altogether substitute true worship for a crappy commercial Substitute.

: stepping down off the soapbox before I get really fired up :

 

[john green]

Good king Wensles last looked out of his bedroom window
Silly bugger fell out on a red hot cinder
Brightly shone his arse that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Ridding on a stool

It fits the original tune as well.

 

[TheBitterEnd]

 

[legendrider]

Alongside Tom Lehrer, my joint favourite Xmas song:

Happy Xmas All MARK

 

[mrodoc]

Christmas is a midwinter festival that was adopted by Christians. People were celebrating the solstice way back when. Probably more in the northern latitudes where nights are so long at that time of year. It is supposed to cheer you up at a gloomy time of year. All the rest has been tacked on incrementally. Many of the currently traditional features were invented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

[tony from suffolk]

Good King Wensless last got pissed,
On the feast of Steven.
Say we fuzz red lights you've missed,
Into this bag you're breathin'.
Brightly shone the crystals green,
Thanks to Christmas wozzle,
Christmas is a groovy scene,
Gawd bless Barbara Ca-a- stle!

(Yes, it's old…Maybe from Private Eye IIRC)