Of all the seasonal songs, my favorite is Silent Night. I enjoy listening to the song sung in different languages and admit to singing along when alone with the windows closed and a sweatshirt stuffed under the door to muffle any chance of my voice being overheard. It’s that bad.
My all time favorite, perhaps not surprisingly, is to hear Silent Night in Hawaiian. There is a gentleness to that language, a lilt and melody that just appeals to me. My second place winner is Gaelic.
What’s your favorite version? Link to it in the comments!
Oh yeah, Max has his favorite, too. Is it the Pavarotti version that sends chills up my spine? Perhaps the Polish Children’s Choir or Douce Nuit sung in the Toulouse Night Market?
Nahhhh…Max likes the singing dogs and here they are!
Now, for those who’d like to hear Silent Night in Hawaiian, here is a lovely rendition. Come on, sing along with me. I’ll give you a head start:
Po la`i e, po kamaha`o,
Maluhia, malamalama
Ka makuahine aloha e
Me ke keiki hemolele e
Moe me ka maluhia lani
Moe me ka maluhia lani
And from the far side of the other pond, here is Celtic Woman’s Méav Ní Mhaolchatha’s (say it fast while eating peanut butter) unreal performance.
Categories: Max's Stories
WITHIN THE K STREETS 
I have seen Celtic Women in concert–they are quite amazing. While I am sure your rendition of ‘Silent Night’ is wonderful, I am totally partial to the canine version. Especially that French Poodle soprano. Chokes me up.
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I can understand that the dogs’ soulful crooning can bring a tear to the eye. Or perhaps that was just slobber from the mastiff.
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Curse you, you fiend!
Fully persuaded that Max’s favourite would be canines performing in canine lingo and remembering last Christmas when I was obliged to replace the neighbour’s radio when our horde took exception to the singing dogs’ rendition of Jingle Bells I took precautions.
I gave them all meaty bones at a distance from the house. I shut the doors…I turned down the volume….and it was totally innocuous!
Loved it though….
Very much enjoyed the Hawaiian language version…preferred it to the Celtic women version…but my own favourite is this
which if I have not completely buggered it up is the Leicester Salvation Army Band.
And why the Sally Ann?
Because I remember commuting in and out of London…you would alight from your train at Christmastide and the Sally Ann would be playing carols…in the rain, the snow and the sleet…raising money to help the homeless and the desperate.
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Thanks for the clip, Helen, I enjoyed it. The leader on trumpet managed to play and conduct the brass at the same time!
The video made me reflect on the Salvation Army volunteers who we see here ringing bells at their kettle stations throughout the holidays. I don’t think we often give thought to the level of dedication it takes to stand there hour after hour ringing and smiling or playing music or otherwise doing so much to help others.
You’re right…they are ubiquitous and because of that are taken for granted. Were they not there, our Christmases would be less for their absence.
Should you wish a link to the barking dogs performing Jingle Bells I would be happy to send one. Or perhaps you’d like the extended version on a CD? I can do that, too. In fact, unless you send me money right now I will send two copies.
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I know when I’m beaten….send me your bank details and I promise not to entirely empty your account.
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I have a Nigerian bank account which contains the vast sums of my brother in law who was a deposed prince before he passed. If you can forward me a small but tidy sum I will be glad to transfer the account to you, please provide official personal information by email.
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How generous! As it is Christmas I propose passing on this unlooked for windfall to a deserving French notaire of my acquaintance whose bank details I happen to have about me…
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I think I saw those Celtic Women on TV/PBS or something. Sound like angels. It’s hard to listen to Tia when I am in awe of her flawless complexion. And the dogs were great! Bravo. I can’t think of a certain version I like. Yours were great.
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You’ll like this one, Kerbey…
At halftime during the Seahawks game I decided to give Maxwell a bath. So I was in the tub scrubbing the Malt and singing along with him – Silent Night, of course.
When we came out of the bathroom I saw the AJF literally bent over gasping with laughter. I asked what was so funny and she could hardly reply except to say, “wait a minute I wrote this down. I got to get it right.”
“OK, so what did you write?”
“I just realized my nice Irish/Ukrainian haole husband was singing a German Christmas song, in Hawaiian, to a Maltese dog while his Japanese wife was making Italian spaghetti.” After which she collapsed laughing and said,
“I love what we are.”
It was a great moment. I’m still chuckling.
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Now THAT is priceless!
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As the world should be!!
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That was just rich. And while I am definitely partial to Standards but not so much to sopranos, the Boxer dude had the most awesome voice. Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau’oli 2015 you cultural icon. 🙂
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As Sam says, “Of course poodles have to be sopranos. Such drama queens.” Right back at ya with the warmest of holiday wishes to your much colder home!
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Loved all the comments as well as the post.
I found the Hawaiian version Silent Night very moving. I also like the German version. I have German heritage on my Mum’s side. My German roots go back a long way and I had ancestors on the first boat of Germans to come to Australia in 1838 and they settled in Hahndorf…a very quaint German-style village. I was quite excited as a child to be able to sing the German version as a carol in a different language. My grandfather used to sing it to.
My grandfather was a Lutheran Church pastor in post-WWII Wollongong where they had multiple nationalities under one roof and every Christmas Eve the service ended with everyone singing Silent Night in their own language. I have never heard that but the Mum and her siblings truly treasure it. Might have to make it happen next Christmas. xx Rowena
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Reblogged this on beyondtheflow and commented:
Silent Night is sacred all around the world. Loved this post although don’t think the canine version quite falls under the “sacred” banner but had me in stiches xx Rowena
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Just listened to the Celtic version. That was heavenly. Her voice was so angellically clear!!
However, it was quite interesting in the translation. My husband has gone out and left the TV on playing the Boxing Day cricket test down in Melbourne. Can’t find the remote so those beautiful tones of Silent Night were infused with “Howzat” and the banter of the cricket commentary. I also had Lady lying on my lap until she found competing with the laptop too much and bailed out. Can’t understand how anyone could be out there at the Boxing Day sales and going into battle after Christmas. We’ve always locked the doors and barred the windows xx Rowena
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It’s January 3rd. Is that cricket test still going on? Because it seems to us, the great unwashed in matters cricket, that those games or tests or trials and tribulations never, ever seem to come to a conclusion. 🙂
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Tom, it’s been quite awhile since I was rudely woken up in the middle of the night when some misguided cricket somehow found its way into our house.
But, I gather you’re not talking about that cricket but that interminable game with the red ball for cricket and one ball for one-dayers and 20-20 matches.
I had to interview Geoff for this comment.
A cricket test is a maximum of 5 days and Australia is playing India in a series of 5 tests. I that pretty much counts as forever.
Meanwhile there are one day matches, 20-20 matches.
Personally, as a kid growing up, the cricket was the bane of my existence and many battles were held against my brother to gain control of that hand-controlled dial on the TV in the days before remotes. Can’t tell you how much I hated cricket as a 13 year old but it’s recorded in my then diary.
So that as they say is cricket.
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