On Mon, 19 Nov 2001 lolipastor@a... wrote:
> Hi, everyone! > > I need to find a song that fits in these perimeters: > > upbeat > international feel > holiday, but not sacred > inspirational > interesting to children
Not sure what you mean by "International". Do you mean "non-Anglophone"? Non-European? Given that ALL countries are nations, I'm going to translate "international" to mean "exotic" - in which case, if you think mediaeval England is exotic, the carol "Good King Wenceslas" should meet your criteria. The melody is from mediaeval England, though the words are 19th century. Otherwise the carol is:
1) Upbeat
2) Holiday-appropriate (winter) without being overtly religious or sacred - if you make two minor adjustments, it will be completely secular. Both are in Verse 5 - the first is in the line "Which the saint had printed", which you should change to "Which the king had printed" (Wenceslas was a king who was later made a saint - the rest of the carol refers to him only as a king); the second is in the line "Therefore, Christian men, be sure" - which you should change to "Therefore, everyone, be sure". While these two changes slightly obscure the subject: which is *Saint* - formerly King - Wenceslas, I don't think the essential meaning or the message is lost at all if you secularise Verse 5 as I've suggested.
3) Inspirational - Definitely - a strong positive message about being charitable to the poor.
4) Interesting to children. Except for toddlers - it's a story-telling carol, and it features the king's pageboy, who the kids can identify with.
Karen Mercedes http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
--- Hillaire Belloc's flawed but insightful essay on Islam: http://www.ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/HERESY4.TXT
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsyl., 1759
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