Ho the Solstice! Light your fires and candles and wreathe your dwelling with winter greenery (as opposed to Mountain Greenery, one of the finest songs ever written. Don't believe me? Get a load of these rhymes - here. If you look on YouTube you'll find a surreal Mickey Mouse version, which I was going to offer, but they SING THE WRONG WORDS!!!!)
Continuing the theme of my favourite Christmas songs, let's have a
bit of Jethro Tull, with a fine example of Bad and Aggressive Miming from 1976.
And here's Greg Lake, bewildering some Bedouin. I don't know the date of the video, but it looks authentically '70s to me.
Whatever you are doing, may your solstice be bright. It may be the longest night, but remember that in the dark of winter lies dies natalis solis invicti - the birthday of the undefeated sun.
Thanks for popping in - do leave a comment in the salon.
Waes Hael!
My favourite poem for this time of the year is Susan Cooper's 'The Shortest Day' http://stitchwords.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/winter-solstice.html
ReplyDeleteOh that's lovely - thank you :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your discretion.
ReplyDelete*nods respectfully*
DeleteBig Jethro fan ... rock flute rocks - though not heard this one (listening has been limited to the ones recommended me). And his random choices of when to "play" and when not to are interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnd in Greg Lake you have offered up possibly my favourite Christmas song (ie. not carol), so thank you for that: the cynic's preferred choice of Christmas pop... They sold me a dream of Christmas; they sold me a silent night... Be it Heaven or Hell, the Christmas we get we deserve - splendid angry singing to be had!
xx
Oh, and Abbeybufo's poetical offering is splendid too...
ReplyDeletexx
Aha! I think I have just unravelled Lady L's cryptic gratitude. Did she come to some arrangement with you? Because she didn't with me...Our solstice greenery is ivy, entwined around a magnificent branch (culled in the chicken run construction project)and decorated with Christmas balls and lovely crocheted stars - a sort of upcycled Xmas tree
ReplyDeleteIt is a great joy to see the Jethro Tull fans of the world emerging from the dark undergrowth. I went to see them at City Hall this year, performing Thick As A Brick in its entirety. And I once wrote a letter to the NME about them. I am very impressed by Ian Anderson's highly lascivious look to camera early on in proceedings in the video.