Christmas songs you sang at school (Nativity/Carol concert bangers)

[TheBluestEye2]

I was at primary school in the 80s/early 90s and the Apuskidusky thread has been bringing back some memories of songs we sang.

In particular I have been recalling Christmas songs we sang in our school nativity plays and Carol concerts. I recall As Joseph was a Walking, Wind Through The Olive Trees Softly Did Blow, and the Inkeeper song (Rat-A-Tat-Tat, Rat-A-Tat-Tat, No! No! No! There isn't any room).

Which Nativity Play/Carol concert bangers do you recall?

Now bring us some Thingy Pudding
Now bring us some Thingy Pudding
Now bring some Thingy pudding
Bring it right here

We won't go until we get some...

I know the right words now...

Adeste Fideles- loved whispering and then ROARING on the last chorus.
For some reason I really loved Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.

Delighted to let you all know that Rat a tat tat features in this year's play in my school!

And one for the Irish- the Alive O We are the Wise Men has never left my brain.

Children go where I send thee! How will I send thee? I'm going to send thee 2 by 2...

I love "It was on a starry night"

And this is an interesting take on Good King Wenceslas

Does anyone remember Come to the Manger? Verses sung solo, chorus sung by everyone:

Come, come, come to the manger,
Children, come to the children’s King;
Sing, sing, chorus of angels,
Stars of morning o’er Bethlehem sing.

Big showstopper at Midnight Mass as I recall.

We did Winds Through the Olive Trees (late 1960s) and I've never found anyone else who has a clue what I'm talking about. Nice to find others remember it too.

Then in high school we did 'Amahl and the Night Visitors'. I loved that.

Oh my - "Rat at Tat Tat" - I haven't thought about the song in years. Used to love that one.

Which is the one with the really long Gloooooooooria? That was always a challenge.

My favourite line was always 'the angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as driven snow, his eyes as FLAME' I found it very dramatic.

We used to sing this, but as figgy pudding.

@fr4zzledmum thats what I mean by knowing the correct words now!

Winds Through The Olive Trees was my absolute favourite at school in the 70’s. Like pps, no one I know has ever heard of it and I had begun to think I dreamt it. Such a lovely tune.

I also remember Rat a tat tat but also

Snowy Flakes
Christmas isn’t Christmas
On a starry night
I wonder as I wander

and of course while shepherds washed their socks whilst watching ITV.

We sang While Shepherds watched to the tune for O for 1000 tongues to sing which is a much nicer tune.

Apparently the original tune is the one we now know as Ilkley Moors Bah Tat, which we also did once. Every year I try and persuade the choir master at church to do it that way.

Yes The Ángel Gabriel, love that one, thanks for the reminder!

We always seemed to sing the same carols each Xmas. Once in Royal David City, Away in a Manger, The Holly and the Ivy, Little Donkey, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, I Saw Three Ships.

Nobody else has mentioned Masters In This Hall yet! If Google is to be believed, it had only seven short verses BUT between each verse there was a much longer chorus which was supposed to be sung with gusto -

Nowell! Nowell! Nowell! Nowell, sing we clear!
Holpen are all folk on earth, born is God's son so dear:
Nowell! Nowell! Nowell! Nowell, sing we loud!
God to-day hath poor folk raised and cast a-down the proud.

One of my happiest memories is of a dull December morning assembly where we really went to town on those choruses. The school's music teacher, an impatient Welshman, grew bored of playing the tune within two verses and began to speed up. The faster he played, the faster we sang. The faster we sang, the harder he battled to keep up. The headmistress stood there on the podium, stony-faced, as the whole thing descended into mayhem. Four hundred teenaged girls were clinging to one another and openly weeping with laughter by the final "...and cast a-down the proud".

We were all ready to collapse from the sheer physical effort, when the headmistress thundered, "Remain standing for the prayer!" and launched into an improv performance that went on for about a hundred years.

We were never allowed to sing it again!

Little donkey

I love 'Masters in this hall' too. It has 12 verses.

@FranKatzenjammer - I thought I remembered Masters In This Hall being much longer than seven verses! No wonder old Mr Cook got so tired of accompanying us on the piano!

Which is the one with the really long Gloooooooooria? That was always a challenge.

Ding Dong Merrily on High. There’s also Angels We Have Heard on High which has similar challenges.

Mind you if you think that’s hard you should try Handel’s Messiah. I was in the school choir when we performed the Christmassy bits from that (For unto us a child is born, And the glory of the Lord etc.) and the lung capacity required for those seemingly endless musical phrases is considerable.

I love that one.

Also like Wind through the Olive Trees; In the Bleak Mid Winter and Little Donkey. Can also remember singing Go tell it on the Mountain and Mary had a Baby.

I had no idea about Little Drummer Boy and the Moors Murders. Not surprised we didn't sing it in school.

My mum was a piano playing primary school teacher so I got a double helping as she used to practice at home. I remember the blue carol book someone linked and the Apuskido songs book.

Little donkey, mostly it was normal church ones then (70's). Calypso carol was a favourite at DD's school, but her favourite is o holy night (choristers)

My favourite was "Imagine if you can a far and distant land covered in sand... tropic breezes sigh." That was a lovely one.
Swinging Shepherd Blues - our year did that and rocked the Christmas assembly!

We sang 12 days of Christmas, but with each class standing up to sing a different day, so basically it descended into a 'who can shout loudest' competition. There was also hot competition for which class would get the best days (5 gold rings was the favourite).

Charterhouse Carol
Adeste Fideles