The greeting cards have all been sent, and we’ve arrived at the finale of this year’s Yuletide ukulele concert. Of course it is Robert Alex Anderson’s Mele Kalikimaka. Lisa even joined us for this round:
Mahalo for watching us this season! May Santa bring you malasadas, too. Happy holidays!
After the sleigh ride, it’s time for one more solo piece this holiday season. Frank Pooler, a college choir director at California State University, Long Beach wrote the lyrics to a Christmas song in 1946. Twenty years later he shared the words with music student Richard Carpenter, who composed the music to Merry Christmas, Darling. Karen Carpenter, one of Pooler’s vocal students, sang the song when the Carpenters recorded it in 1970. It was one of their first singles and still gets plenty of airplay during the holiday season.
I’ve always liked this song and have the ukulele sheet music. It’s one of the more advanced pieces I’ve learned and requires a lower octave than the standard re-entrant tuning on a uke. I play this on my low G Kala, which gives me the extra octave and adds a warm sound. It’s a wrist breaker of a song though!
Here are the lyrics, which can be helpful for following along with the melody should the song be unfamiliar:
Greeting cards have all been sent
The Christmas rush is through
But I still have one wish to make
A special one for you…
Merry Christmas, Darling
We’re apart that’s true
But I can dream and in my dreams
I’m Christmasing with you
Holidays are joyful
There’s always something new
But every day’s a holiday
When I’m near to you
The lights on my tree I wish you could see
I wish it every day
The logs on the fire fill me with desire to see you and to say
That I wish you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, too
I’ve just one wish on this Christmas Eve
I wish I were with you
The lights on my tree I wish you could see
I wish it every day
The logs on the fire fill me with desire to see you and to say
That I wish you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, too
I’ve just one wish on this Christmas Eve
I wish I were with you
Merry Christmas….Darling
Because this is a bit melancholy, I’ve ended the song on a C major 7 chord rather than a straight C chord, giving it a bit of wistfulness. See what you think:
Whew! This was the big one this Christmas. Up next on Christmas Eve, the whole ohana joins together for a rousing tropical holiday!
The recital on Wednesday went really well. Actually, my instructor said he got a little emotional thinking about how far I’d come in a year. That made my day. Aria performed Jingle Bells like a boss, and I did Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella. My in-home dress rehearsal was the last video installment. Lisa took a photo right before leaving for the venue:
Aria and I have teamed up for another song, a favorite of hers on the radio. Sleigh Ride was originally an instrumental piece, composed by Leroy Anderson and first recorded in 1949. Lyrics were later added in 1950 by Mitchell Parish. Just hear those sleigh bells jingling:
* Note to self: Do not let perfection be the enemy of good, especially when working with a kindergartner. Time is not your friend! Up next, I’ll have a solo of a classic Carpenters Christmas original.