Christmas (song)

"Christmas" is a song written by Pete Townshend and is the seventh song on The Who's rock opera Tommy. On the original LP, it opens the second side of the album.

Lyrics

The song tells how on Christmas morning, Tommy's father is worried about Tommy's future, and soul. His future is jeopardized due to being deaf, dumb, and blind. The lyrics contrast religious themes such as Christmas and Jesus Christ with Tommy's ignorance of such matters. The rhetorical question, "How can he be saved from the eternal grave?" is asked about Tommy's condition and adds speculation as to the nature of original sin and eternal salvation. In the middle of the song, "Tommy can you hear me?" is repeated, with Tommy responding, "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me." However, Tommy's life changes when he receives a pinball machine and eventually becomes the "Pinball Wizard".

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time. It is composed in the key of G Major with Roger Daltrey's vocal range spanning from G₃ to A₄. The song makes repeated use of suspended fourth chords that resolve to triads. Some of the melodic material is similar to the horn section on Tommy's "Overture".

Christmas music

Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season.

History

Early music

Music was an early feature of the Christmas season and its celebrations. The earliest examples are hymnographic works (chants and litanies) intended for liturgical use in observance of both the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany, many of which are still in use by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The 13th century saw the rise of the carol written in the vernacular, under the influence of Francis of Assisi.

In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is treated in a style that is familiar or festive. From Italy, it passed to France and Germany, and later to England. Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Audelay, a Shropshire priest and poet, who lists 25 "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house. Music in itself soon became one of the greatest tributes to Christmas, and Christmas music includes some of the noblest compositions of the great musicians.

Christmas Song

Christmas Song may refer to:

See also

Christmas Song (album)

Christmas Song is Mannheim Steamroller's eighth Christmas album overall and the group's fifth Christmas studio album. It was released in 2007 on CD by American Gramaphone, and features twelve Christmas songs. It is notable that Steamroller co-founder Jackson Berkey doesn't appear on the album.

Track listing

Gilbert O'Sullivan discography

The following is a discography listing of Gilbert O'Sullivan's officially released works to date.

Singles

† Duet with Peggy Lee

EPs

Albums

References