Notes for "Christmas in the Trenches"

Here is a abbreviated copy of the discussion that took place after I posted "Christmas in the Trenches" in the past couple of years. It includes notes on that song; and on where you can find similar music on war, peace, and more diverse winter holiday selections.

Enjoy!

        Quarong

>From kddavis at pacifier.com Thu Dec 26 22:33:39 1996

You can find the song on John McDermott's "Battlefields of Green: Songs of Love and Loss". The CD includes Green Fields of France, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, The Minstrel Boy and a song called The Sun is Burning that you have to hear to believe.

As to other seasonal music Golden Bough has "Winter's Dance" and "Christmas in a Celtic Land" while Windham Hill has put out "Celtic Christmas I&II" as well as several "Solstice" (read Celtic "stuff") CDs.

>From filk-owner at dragoncat.net Fri Dec 27 07:36:05 1996

This is on his "Winter Solstice" album. Well worth picking up.

You might be interested to know that it was written about a true event that happened during WWI. On one of his live albums he tells the story of playing this song in Germany. Every night a bunch of geriatric old Germans would come to hear him. They would drag along their children and grand children, wait for the song, then say, "See? See?"

It's interesting to juxtapose "Christmas in the Trenches" with Eric Bogle's "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" and "No Man's Land." Then everybody can be depressed together, and go slit their throats or jump off a cliff.

"No Man's Land" memorializes the Irish dead in WWI. The Irish troups were used as cannon fodder. Casualties among Irish recruits were over 80%. In many villages, not a single young man returned from the war. This is why Ireland remained neutral throughout WWII.

Both the Eric Bogle songs are on his "Scraps of Paper" album, along with that perennial filker favorite "He's Nobody's Moggy Now." This is another album that any folk music fan should own.

• Larry

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>From callie at edge.twig.com Mon Dec 30 00:15:22 1996

I actually listened to very little Xmas music this year, but when I do listen it's usually to CDs. I have several "seasonal" ones in my collection, which you might find if you're interested:

- A Fresh Aire Christmas        (fantasias on un/familiar tunes)
- Christmas in the Aire         (likewise)
- Kings Singers: A Little Christmas Music  (good stuff, fun vocals)
- Windham Hill Artists' Winter Solstice I-IV
- Mason Williams: Gift of Song  (guitar renditions of xmas stuff)

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>From callie at edge.twig.com Wed Jan 8 23:42:46 1997
Subject: Re: No Man's Land (aka Green Fields of France)

Good recording, not sure - it's Eric Bogle so check the discography for him. Words - pick up a copy of Rise Up Singing if you don't already have it. The lyrics are on page 162 of the spiral bound edition, in the songs about Peace.

From: be359 at scn.org Fri Jan 10 23:39:50 1997

Peter, Paul and Mary recorded a version on their "Flowers and Stones" album. (Which also has a great ose called "Fair Ireland" re N. Ireland. I'd like to hear that one turning up at filks....)

From: quarong at eskimo.com Dec 7, 1997

	The song I commonly refer to as "Christmas in the Trenches"
	has just been released as the final cut on Garth Brooks new 
	album.  He refers to it by the title of "Belleau Wood", a 
	reference to where the event took place.  So if you're tastes
	run to Country music instead of 60's/70's style Folk . . . .

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<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Karen Rall, Folk Music Programming Coordinator for Norwescon 22. If you'd like more information about Celtic music activities in the Greater Seattle area, or about Filking at Cons & SCA Events, please reply to <quarong at eskimo.com>. General Convention info is available at <http://www.webwitch.com/>, and SCA information at <http://www.sca.org/>. Received on 12/16/98