Favorite Christmas Song Lyrics

I have been practicing Christmas songs on the guitar like a mad woman. I am playing for the 1940s Christmas this Friday and I am pretty nervous. I don't tend to feel very confident about singing in front of people (although working at the library went a long way towards curing me of that) and I have never played guitar for anyone but John.

When I was a kid I liked practicing songs on the piano that I could sing along to. It made them more fun. When I was in high school and got home before everyone else I usually used that time to play piano and sing (because of that whole not liking to sing in front of people thing). And I've found that playing songs on the guitar that I can sing along to is more fun, too. In fact, on guitar, I do something I never did on piano. When I sing, I'm usually playing chords, so I'm really playing one thing and singing another.

Practicing these Christmas songs, I have done a lot of singing, (well I had to practice that, too) and singing the same songs day after day, I've gotten to know what they are saying better than I did before.

I had never payed much attention to the song "The Friendly Beasts." Maybe I thought it was a little silly. I'm not sure. Anyway, I love it. It's so gentle and sweet. My favorite verse is the one about the doves:

"I" said the dove from the rafters high,
"I cooed Him to sleep that He would not cry.
We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I."
"I," said the dove from the rafters high.

I think I like it because the other animals give really practical gifts like a blanket or bed, but the doves give the gift of song and a different sort of comfort.

I don't think I was previously very familiar with the additional verses of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" either. I really like the line, "Pleased as Man with man to dwell."

I hope that this Christmas we all sings songs of comfort and are pleased to live among men.