Five Gold Rings

So… if it really was the fifth day of Christmas you wouldn’t be singing Christmas carols anymore, now would you? I mean, how many of us do Christmas anything after December 25th?  Not many.  Accordingly this post is an early Christmas present to you: five carols worthy of the coveted Gold Ring award. “It’s impossible”, you say. “Select only five Christmas carols?”  Yes, I get you, but today’s challenge isn’t fruit(cake)-less. We just need a few rules to refine the recipients:

  1. You can’t choose more than one from the same singer (which eliminates about five hundred from Amy Grant).
  2. You can’t choose more than one version of the same song (in other words, please dream of only one “White Christmas”).
  3. Your choices should dance into your head like sugar plums, instead of having to consult your several Spotify holiday playlists.
  4. (and perhaps the most difficult): Your choices should qualify as “carols” and not just “songs”.  I mean, c’mon people, if we’re giving out gold rings the music better convey the spirit of Christmas, right?

Here then, my five gold rings; the ones adorning my hand every Christmas for as long as I can remember (or at least, for as long as Carrie Underwood’s been alive).  They’re probably not the same as your five gold rings but that’s okay, because you wouldn’t give me the same presents I give you, would you?  Would you?

Sissel Kyrkjebo/Mormon Tabernacle Choir – “In The Bleak Mid-Winter”.  The Methodist church I grew up in always reserved a spot for this 1906 carol in its Christmas Eve services, so it blooms with nostalgia for me.  Sissel’s angelic voice – backed by The Choir – captivates me every time, especially on the introspective lyrics of the final verse.  I think you’ll agree; Sissel is as graceful as one of those seven swans a-swimming.

Amy Grant – “Breath of Heaven”.  I love everything Amy Grant sings about Christmas (until her 2016 album “Tennessee Christmas” came along, which was as bad as curdled eggnog).  I thought it would be difficult to choose just one of her carols, but “Breath of Heaven” is Amy’s unparalleled signature to Christmas.  The lyrics “Help me be strong… help me be… help me…” always get to me, and are as successive as three french hens, one after another.

Laura Story – “I Lift My Eyes”.  Laura Story is a pastor, songwriter, and singer (better known for her contemporary Christian hit “Blessings”).  She sings from the heart.  Of the ten carols a-leaping on her Christmas album “God With Us”, “I Lift My Eyes” leaps the highest.  Frankly, it soars.

Michael W. Smith – “Almost There”.  Bit of a cheat here because Amy Grant shares in the singing, but I still consider this one a standout Michael W. Smith carol.  The lyrics speak to Mary’s journey to Bethlehem, her journey to the birth itself, and anyone’s journey through Advent to Christmas.  You could also say it’s a carol about the partridge pursuing the pear tree, but not quite to the branches yet.

Carrie Underwood – “All Is Well”.  Michael W. Smith also gets the credit for this one, which was recorded by two other artists before this latest rendition.  The lyrics are simple and repetitive, but with Carrie’s ridiculous range you’ve got something more powerful than eleven pipers piping.  Carrie draws out the final (all is) “well” for so long, you’ll wonder if it isn’t New Years Day when the carol is done.

So there you have them, and now it’s time for your own gold rings.  Remember, five off the top of your head, only one per singer, only one version of any choice, and music that speaks reverently to the season.  Gift your rings back to me in the comments and we’ll feel as cozy as two turtle doves.  Whatever those are.

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Author: Dave

Five hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

20 thoughts on “Five Gold Rings”

  2. If I started to try and pick five Christmas songs, I’d get lost in YouTube and Spotify and likely wouldn’t emerge again until December 26. Then there’s our collection of Christmas vinyl records, the CD collection … It could take me a long time to just pick five.

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    1. The choices are overwhelming, no question about it. I stick to what I know and love, which keeps my playlists tapping a dozen albums or less. Every now and then a new favorite pops in but it’s typically a new rendition of an old classic.

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    1. We’re in the same mode, Margie. It’s kind of our norm to do a little each day, but I wouldn’t say we’re fully decorated or prepared until the day itself. Then we’re reluctant to take anything down until well into the new year.

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    1. Appreciate you weighing in, Neil, as well as offering a new choice. It seems almost all “new” Christmas music is simply retreads on the old standards so it’s nice to hear something original.

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    1. There’s a lot of “bad” beside the “good” Ana (especially the movies, especially the Hallmark channel) but the “good” is really good if you choose wisely. Music moves me more than any other aspect of the season.

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  6. Hmm I don’t think I’ve heard any of those on the North Pole Radio I listen to.
    My favs off the top of my head in no particular order:
    – All I Want for Christmas is You – Michael Buble
    – O Holy Night – Celine Dion
    – Santa Clause is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen
    – It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
    – Christmas Canon – Trans-Siberian Orchestra with the kids choir

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    1. Ho-ho-ho yes, you’re not going to find any of these on “NPR”. But I like your choices! Springsteen’s is a classic because it’s so spontaneous and fun. Andy Williams’ is another classic; not sure why but his versions are some of my favorites of all. And it was hard to leave “O’ Holy Night” off my list. Anyone who can hit the high note at the end deserves consideration!

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  7. I have not heard any of these songs Dave, but during the holiday season I do listen to a radio station that plays Christmas music 24 hours a day, usually starting November 1st. However, the station does tend to overplay some of the most-popular songs.

    You might have heard on the news that Brenda Lee’s “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” (released 65 years ago) became the No. 1 Christmas song for 2023, knocking out Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”. When I worked at the diner during college, the Brenda Lee song was the ONLY Christmas song on the jukebox and I heard it played at least 25-30 times on my shift, if not more – I thought I’d lose my mind. I really can’t stand the Mariah Carey song.

    So here is my list and having never been an old movie fan, (I think we commented before that I have never seen the holiday classics “White Christmas” or “It’s a Wonderful Life”), but growing up I always watched the holiday children classics “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” – I never missed them. My mom bought me the boxed set of those two movies from Blockbuster Video one year. I’m just a kid at heart I guess.

    My favorites, in no particular order:

    “Silver Bells” – Bing Crosby
    “Drummer Boy” – Bing Crosby (not the Bing Crosby/David Bowie version)
    “Oh Holy Night” – Celine Dion (her version just moves me every time I hear it)
    “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – Gene Autry (original and best)
    “Frosty the Snowman” – Burl Ives (has to be Burl Ives as he sang it in the movie)

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    1. It’s a good list, Linda. Any Bing Crosby carol and most versions of “O’ Holy Night” are deserving of mention. I find it nostalgic the Rudolph and Frosty specials were only shown once a year back in the day, and we didn’t even have the technology to record them. I’ll choose Burl Ives’ version of “Rudolph…” since it went with the TV special, and actually, I believe it was Jimmy Durante who sang “Frosty…” in that one.

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      1. Thank you Dave and I do like Bing Crosby – what a crooner, with a voice that could melt butter as my mom used to say. I totally forgot that it was Jimmy Durante singing the “Frosty” song in the TV special. How could I forget that as his voice was so recognizable and he sang that song with such gusto.

        I wrote a post a few years back about parking myself in front of the TV set every year to watch those two specials because yes, they only aired once in the holiday season. There was special dispensation for an early/quick dinner to allow for homework to be done in time to watch those shows (the only other exception being Halloween night). In later years, I taped both shows and watched them until getting the boxed set. That was good, wholesome fun and I had the 45s of both songs, along with some other fun Christmas songs and the actual records at that time were colorful vinyl, not the regular black vinyl.

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  8. Looking forward to playing your “golden ring” carols, Dave! I’d be hard-pressed to choose just five carols. But how about favorite CDs (for those of us who still own an ancient player)?! Some of ours are really old, but we HAVE to bring them out each year: Handel’s Messiah, Sandi Patti’s Celebrate Christmas, Michael W. Smith’s “It’s a Wonderful Christmas, The Best of Narada Christmas, Carpenters’ Christmas Portrait, and Andrea Bocelli’s My Christmas. Oops–that’s six. I guess my choices get the golden egg awards instead of rings, from the Six-Geese-A-Laying!

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    1. “Golden Egg Awards” – even better than my “rings” ha. MWS “It’s a Wonderful Christmas” is one of my very favorites. Karen Carpenter could sing the phone book and I’d listen for hours. We use Spotify now, but just this year we found a playlist of the Time-Life Treasury of Christmas CD’s we loved from thirty-odd years ago. It’s impossible to beat the classics from Nat King Cole, Julie Andrews, Perry Como, Roger Whittaker, and so on from days gone by.

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  9. This is a little tough. As you know, I am a traditionalist, so any carol that came around after, say, 1900, is a little suspect. So, off the top of my head and in no order:

    O Come All Ye Faithful – Sinatra
    Good King Wenceslas – the Benedictine Sisters in Missouri (whose actual name escapes me)
    Once In Royal David’s City – Stan Kenton
    Oh Holy Night – Philadelphia Orchestra
    Lo How A Rose – almost anyone.

    Yes, many are obscure. And I am under the handicap of not listening to any carols (besides from Charlie Brown) since last year because I am clinging to advent yet.

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    1. I finally listened to your Christmas carol choices, J P (using my Christmas present – Bose headphones!) and they’re all worth the add to my Christmas playlist. Pretty sure I’ve never heard Sinatra’s version of “O’ Come…” since my playlist defaults to the Ed Ames version. I recognized the tune of “Once…” immediately and I’m not surprised you’re partial to this instrumental version. Any version of “O’ Holy Night” works for me. Finally, since you gave me a choice, I picked the Mormon Tabernacle’s version of “Lo…”. Beautiful from start to finish.

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