Holiday music from various languages/cultures

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Linguaphile
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Re: Holiday music

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-06, 1:13

Johanna’s comments earlier got me thinking about music used for funerals and for types of other ceremonies. When I created this thread I was thinking of music with lyrics in various languages, and these songs are usually played as instrumentals with no lyrics, but in terms of culture they definitely fit here. I’m also curious which other countries also use these songs in the same contexts or what is used in other countries use instead. (I know only a few from outside the U.S., and will post some of them later in a different post, unless people from those countries post them before I get around to it - which would be great!)

There isn’t really any one song that is always used at funerals in the U.S., but two that come to mind (and make me think of funerals if I hear them in some other contexts) are below:

Amazing Grace is sung on other occasions besides funerals, but I don’t think I’ve personally ever heard a bagpipe version of Amazing Grace outside of a funeral. (It’s also one of the few American contexts in which bagpipes are often used.)
(en-US) (en) (sco) Amazing Grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq54jb_5WCI

Another for American funerals (especially but not exclusively military funerals):
(en-US) Taps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfe4TxvUOiw

And for weddings, as the bride enters the back of the room and walks up to the front:
(en-US) (en) (etc; I know it’s used in several other countries as well) - Mendelssohn’s Wedding March (also known as Here Comes the Bride)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7_m1om82o4

For graduations in the United States, by far the most common is Pomp and Circumstance. (Technically, it is a portion of Pomp and Circumstance March #1, but it’s generally referred to as Pomp and Circumstance.) I think every graduation ceremony I have ever attended has used this song and the majority of Americans most likely associate it exclusively with graduations. Typically this music is played while the graduates are walking in.
(en-US) (en) Pomp and Circumstance (also known as Graduation March)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw-_Ew5bVxs

I struggled a bit with which flags to include for the videos in this post. The versions posted here (which are the most common versions in the U.S. in my experience) have no lyrics, so there’s no language to indicate with a flag. Still, I put flags to try to indicate where they are used; but the countries the music originally comes from aren’t necessarily the same as the countries where they are used for specific ceremonies. (Much like the discussion above about Härlig är jorden being used for funerals in Sweden but the equivalent Finnish and Norwegian songs being used for Christmas in Finland and Norway.) For example, Pomp and Circumstance was originally a British patriotic song, but its use in graduations is a very American thing. (And most Americans don’t even know it ever had lyrics, much less know what they are.) So basically I know that all of this music is common in the United States for these specific purposes, but some of it is originally British music.

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Re: Holiday music

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-06, 1:17

Naava wrote:
Linguaphile wrote:(smi-sms) Puäđas Rosttov
(fi) Tulkoon Joulu
(smi-sme) Juovllat leat dál

Same song, but Kirill Sultanshin has translated a part of it into Russian:

(fi)&(ru)


Cool, thanks! I really like the sound of this song in all of the languages I've found it in. And your post made me wonder if I could find an English version, and I did! So here it is.

(en) Christmas Has Come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gq64NK5R5k

And while we're at it, an Estonian version too:
(et) Tulgu jõulud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HAHpnfuYbI

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Re: Holiday music

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-07, 4:59

Meadow Mari
A series of Mari holidays in December and January: Рошто (Christmas), У ий пайрем (New Year celebration), and Шорыкйол (Shorykiol, in January)

(mhr) Марла Лабада
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdl9RkbETQ8

(mhr) Пылвомыш почылтын
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISdELtPNeF4

(mhr) Волгыдо йӱд, йоҥгыдо йӱд
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ond-ijDX3Ww

(mhr) У ий пайрем
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N34v3QFiTuA

(mhr) Шорыкйол пайрем шурабаш клубышто
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPJlfkQRO4o

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Re: Holiday music

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-09, 2:37

Christmas songs in Livonian

(liv) Ma tulāb i’ldõst, touvõstõ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6rgc7iHwnc

(liv) Taļšpivād āiga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNE0b1-6iSM

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Re: Holiday music

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-09, 2:40

Christmas songs in Inari Saami.

(smi-smn) Puáttus juovlah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEV5nvoh-vU

(smi-smn) Ko juovla lii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-gR9rQmpO4

(smi-smn) Juovlâmuorâ čiŋâttum lii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2iMzh1wByY

(smi-smn) Juovlâtoontuh tääl tánssájeh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaLHXV3BO1A

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Re: Holiday music

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-09, 14:58

Silent Night in Ngäbere (Ngobe, Guaymí)

Noche de Paz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVW6WJ4Tzbo

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Re: Holiday music

Postby vijayjohn » 2019-12-10, 7:26

Linguaphile wrote:Johanna’s comments earlier got me thinking about music used for funerals and for types of other ceremonies.

They got me thinking about the fact that the tune of "Clementine" is used as a funereal song among (some?) Malayalee Christians. Then I realized that a lot of American lullabies/kids' songs have some pretty terrifying lyrics.

Anyway, here are some Christmas songs in Malayalam and Tamil. In Kerala, Christmas is very much seen as a Christian holiday. This is an unreleased version of a Christmas medley from the 1985 movie Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu. The first song in the medley is the Malayalam version of "O Holy Night," the last is the Malayalam version of "Silent Night" (omitted from the movie itself), and just before that is a modified version of "Jingle Bells" (at least partly in English). I have never heard the other songs anywhere else, so I guess those are original compositions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J71_6HTRlOM
This is a lyric video of the Malayalam version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" performed by a Mar Thoma church choir (this is the same denomination that my family associates itself with although my parents, my brother, and I are all atheist):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgFCR4fxFgg
This is another lyric video from the same YouTube channel for the Malayalam version of "O Come, All Ye Faithful":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7FrDl8o1Ag
This is another lyric video of a song that our hymn book suggests was also translated from English, but I have no idea whether there really is an English version or not. My dad sometimes sings this song while working (most of the songs he sings are hymns although he's atheist since he claims not to know many other songs). In Malayalam, it's called "Nararodathisneham Poondu," meaning something like 'Bearing Great Love for Mankind':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOMSKG4I3I
This is a video of a choir in Salalah, Oman, singing another Christmas song in Malayalam called "Maattin Thozhuthil Piranninnaal" that our hymn book also suggests was translated from English. This time, I'm a little more confident in saying this is a lie because I looked it up online last year and found someone claiming that it was composed a little over a hundred years ago, possibly by someone from the village where my dad spent his childhood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hcOT56ae28
"Sthuthi Chol" is a Christmas song (not listed in our hymn book) that I had to sing on my own for the local Malayalee association, with my brother playing an electric piano, within two years after we moved here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kJbzrEDl38
"Sthuthippin Naam Modamaay" is another (also not listed) that I sang within a few years after that, at another Malayalee Christmas function, with two other people:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2RR2L8ClvM
This is another song listed in the hymn book called "Yesu Innu Janichu" (Jesus Was Born Today) performed in Doha, Qatar. The hymn book tries to link this ultimately to "Wonderful Words of Life," but I don't think that has the same tune :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RF1FUO5U5I
And another called "Raajaraaja Daivaraajan," performed in Houston (come to think of it, I think that's a relative of mine, in the second row from the bottom, third from the left). The hymn book doesn't claim this song to be translated from English:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmp5ReQBYGQ
This is a different version of the same song by two movie/playback singers, with a completely different tune and slightly different lyrics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9R_VjSlyn8
This is the same song but in Tamil, I think probably by the same two singers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZKaXVMFTMw
This is a slightly fancy and shorter version of the next hymn listed in our hymn book, "Athimangala Kaaranane," with somewhat different lyrics I'm not entirely sure make any sense. :? Apparently, this tune was inspired by North Indian classical music(?):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDq6aMDfzaM
This is another version of the same song with a slightly different tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8xDsE-BzE4
And this is the Tamil version of the same song (there is a Tamil version with the other tune, too) sung by a playback singer from Andhra Pradesh named Jikki, who sang a number of songs in Tamil IIRC and at least one song in Malayalam in 1960. Apparently, it's originally a Tamil song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tPKfuV1yO8

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-12, 2:21

Christmas songs in French. The first two, I still know by heart from singing them in French classes in school. (We also sang a version of "Le petit renne au nez rouge," but it was a different version, with lyrics that began "Rudolphe était un renne..." I haven't found a video for that one: Rudolphe avec ton nez si beau, veux-tu guider le traîneau?)


(fr) Il est né le divin enfant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKr-29cOf64

(fr) Un flambeau, Jeanette Isabelle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkjssLSjXy0

(fr) La plus belle nuit du monde (Glory, Alleluia)
(Once again here's a tune used for different purposes in different languages and places; in the United States it's a patriotic song, with entirely different words)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68m4OYe8WUo

(fr) Le petit renne au nez rouge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7xhXu9gg-Q

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-13, 1:09

Linguaphile wrote:We also sang a version of "Le petit renne au nez rouge," but it was a different version, with lyrics that began "Rudolphe était un renne..."

Found the other version! This is the one I remember from French classes.

(fr) Rudolphe le petit renne au nez rouge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcMdlJw6Uh8


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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Johanna » 2019-12-15, 12:56

These songs are originally Swedish, no translations or hymns.

Jag kommer hem igen till jul by Peter Jöback (2002)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrzlzKx3KGg

Julen är här by Tommy Körberg and Sissel Kyrkjebø (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czzeuWrv6WQ

Tänd ett ljus by Triad (1987)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfW2gzNUf-U
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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Naava » 2019-12-19, 12:22

No videos this time, but I saw this post and I thought it would fit in here... :mrgreen:

Types of [English] xmas songs:

    - Jesus was a baby once and he was Very Cool
    - The Big Red Man Is Coming
    - There’s snow outside. that’s good!
    - I’m alone on xmas and sad
    - Santa Claus is very sexy
    - Christmas trees. love em
    - You know what? it’s Christmas time

Meanwhile xmas songs in Finland

    - An elf suffers from insomnia
    - If there’s no snow, christmas is cancelled
    - Baby Jesus drowns in snow
    - Nobody visits the grandma
    - Nobody can visit the Christmas land
    - A pig is going to be eaten
    - Enjoy your christmas now since you’re gonna die soon anyway
    - A child cries on her mother’s grave
    - A dead brother re-incarnates as a sparrow and steals former sister’s last foods

(I must also add that "a pig is going to be eaten" does not do justice to the song. For example, one line goes "pig - uncle will slaughter it / pig - and uncle will drink blood". :whistle: )

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-19, 14:24

Naava wrote:Meanwhile xmas songs in Finland

    - An elf suffers from insomnia
    - If there’s no snow, christmas is cancelled
    - Baby Jesus drowns in snow
    - Nobody visits the grandma
    - Nobody can visit the Christmas land
    - A pig is going to be eaten
    - Enjoy your christmas now since you’re gonna die soon anyway
    - A child cries on her mother’s grave
    - A dead brother re-incarnates as a sparrow and steals former sister’s last foods

(I must also add that "a pig is going to be eaten" does not do justice to the song. For example, one line goes "pig - uncle will slaughter it / pig - and uncle will drink blood". :whistle: )


Yeah, as far as well-known Christmas songs with that kind of message, we just have this one (although there are also plenty of parodies and lesser-known negative songs in English too if you search for them, but this is the only one I can think of that is very well-known and widely used every year):
(en-US) Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIwLeASnkw

Grandma got run over by a reindeer
Walking home from our house Christmas Eve
You can say there's no such thing as Santa
But as for me and grandpa we believe

She'd been drinking too much eggnog
And we begged her not to go
But she forgot her medication
And she staggered out the door into the snow

When we found her Christmas morning
At the scene of the attack
She had hoof-prints on her forehead
And incriminating Claus marks on her back

Now we're all so proud of grandpa
He's been taking this so well
See him in there watching football
Drinking beer and playing cards with cousin Mel

It's not Christmas without Grandma
All the family's dressed in black
And we just can't help but wonder
Should we open up her gifts or send them back...

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Naava » 2019-12-19, 16:08

I had some time so I translated the Pig song. It's a clever song, although a bit horrid (but that is its point, so fair enough I guess?)

https://youtu.be/j-CuPDYB9UM

Lyrics:
► Show Spoiler

Translation:
► Show Spoiler

Btw some of the comments below the video:
"Maybe the most vegan song ever :D"
"No doubt the best Christmas song ever"

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-19, 23:14

Naava wrote:I had some time so I translated the Pig song. It's a clever song, although a bit horrid (but that is its point, so fair enough I guess?)

Btw some of the comments below the video:
"Maybe the most vegan song ever :D"
"No doubt the best Christmas song ever"

:silly:
Hahah. Thanks for taking the time to post the translation and comments.

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Naava » 2019-12-20, 11:52

Linguaphile wrote:
Naava wrote:I had some time so I translated the Pig song. It's a clever song, although a bit horrid (but that is its point, so fair enough I guess?)

Btw some of the comments below the video:
"Maybe the most vegan song ever :D"
"No doubt the best Christmas song ever"

:silly:
Hahah. Thanks for taking the time to post the translation and comments.

Np! :) It was surprisingly difficult because there's these descriptive verbs like lojua and rypeä and weird phrases like ympäristö vatsan happoisen, and I had no idea what to do with them. :lol: English has its own set of verbs that don't quite match with the Finnish verbs, and the phrases feel awkward no matter how I try to translate them (unless I change them completely and say "the stomach acids killed the pig"). And then on top of everything, Finnish lyrics love to abuse our free word order to the point where even Finns sometimes can't decipher what the "normal" structure would be. Like that "jouluna sikaa mä muista en" would be "mä en muista sikaa jouluna" if we went with the SVO order... Like sure let me translate that as "at Christmas the pig I remember don't". :D Also, English doesn't see to have a translation for "herkku", which is something like especially good food or sweets. :noclue:

---------------

The song you posted reminded me of our parodies such as Joulupuu on varastettu and Joulupukki, joulupukki. Kids love them but I doubt many of them dare to sing these to Santa... :whistle: (You're supposed to sing a song to Santa before he gives you your presents.)

Joulupuu on varastettu lyrics & translation:
► Show Spoiler

Original lyrics & translation:
► Show Spoiler


Joulupukki, joulupukki lyrics & translation:
► Show Spoiler

Original lyrics & translation:
► Show Spoiler

The parody version is horrible because every time I try to sing the original one, I always end up singing "white beard, old man, we're not afraid, dad will --- no wait a minute". :lol:
+ a funny story: when my nephews were kids and they learnt this song, the youngest of them thought his big brothers had made up the lyrics by themselves. He wanted to be creative, too, and so he sang "come in here, we're not afraid, dad will THROW YOU IN THE TRASH". He was very pleased with himself.

My mum also taught me this when I was a kid:
► Show Spoiler

The original lyrics & translation:
► Show Spoiler

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-30, 18:56

bitcohen wrote:I have more I will be adding as I know some who deserve to be on the list as well.
These Eyes - Guess Who
In Came The Flood - Wintersleep

This thread focuses on songs that are used for holidays and celebrations (Christmas, New Year, birthdays, graduations, etc). Are these songs associated with specific holidays? I'm quite familiar with "These Eyes" (though not with "In Came the Flood") and I'm not aware of them being used as traditional holiday songs.
I don't want to discourage you from posting, but if you do plan to post more songs that are not traditionally used for specific holidays, they might be better in this thread here (follow link) or one of the other more generic music threads in the Culture forum.

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-30, 20:24

Popular song for the New Year in the United States and many other English-speaking countries:
(en) Auld Lang Syne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aop6YF1Xqqg&pb

Original Scots lyrics:
(sco) Auld Lang Syne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm1hwxc92Mo

Щедрик is a Ukrainian New Years song. In the English-speaking world it has become better-known as a Christmas song called "Carol of the Bells".
(uk) Щедрик
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZEMvVcf5-Q

(en) Carol of the Bells
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-W2Bkz_Rno

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Re: Holiday music from various languages/cultures

Postby Linguaphile » 2019-12-31, 4:29

Russian songs for New Year's Eve:

(ru) До свидания, Старый год
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igA6xFa7pSE

(ru) Пять минут
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12kPdU6A71o

(ru) Песенка о хорошем настроении
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yjkod_qeSE

(ru) Песня и поздравление с новым годом
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMmLVMxsp7Q



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