Australian Christmas Carols

With Christmas rapidly approaching, and the airwaves and shopping malls serenading us with Carols and songs of varying relevance to Christmas, I thought our Northern Hemisphere friends may be interested to know that we do actually have our own carols in Australia, portraying a very different atmosphere to those we normally associate with Christmas music. The lyrics, which were all written by John Wheeler, concentrate on nature and the climate at this time yet show that we can still celebrate Christmas without snow, reindeer, and wood fires. Below are just five of fifteen Australian Carols that I have on a record; there may be others that I'm unaware of.

THE THREE DROVERS

Across the plains one Christmas night

Three drovers riding blithe and gay,

Looked up and saw a starry light

More radiant than the Milky Way;

And on their hearts such wonder fell,

They sang with joy.

'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'

The air was dry with summer heat,

And smoke was on the yellow moon;

But from the heavens, faint and sweet,

Came floating down a wond'rous turn;

And as they heard, they sang full well

Those drovers three.

'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'

The black swans flew across the sky,

The wild dog called across the plain,

The starry lustre blazed on high,

Still echoed on the heavenly strain;

And still they sang, 'Noel! Noel!'

Those drovers three.

'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'


CAROL OF THE BIRDS

Out on the plains the brolgas are dancing,

Lifting their feet like war horses prancing,

Up to the sun the woodlarks go winging,

Faint in the dawn light echoes their singing,

Orana! Orana!Orana! To Christmas Day.

Down where the tree-ferns grow by the river,

There where the waters sparkle and quiver,

Deep in the gullies Bell-birds are chiming,

Softly and sweetly their lyric notes rhyming

Orana! Orana!Orana! To Christmas Day.

Friar-birds sip the nectar of flowers,

Currawongs chant in wattle-tree bowers,

In the blue ranges Lorikeets calling,

Carols of bushlands rising and falling,

Orana! Orana!Orana! To Christmas Day.

CHRISTMAS DAY

The North Wind is tossing the leaves,
The red dust is over the town,
The sparrows are under the eaves,
And the grass in the paddock is brown;
As we lift up our voices and sing
To the Christ-Child the Heavenly King.
The tree-ferns in green gullies sway;
The cool stream flows silently by;
The joy bells are greeting the day,
And the chimes are adrift in the sky,
As we lift up our voices and sing
To the Christ-Child the Heavenly King.


THE DAY THAT CHRIST WAS BORN ON

When the sun’s a golden rose,
And the magpie carols clear,
You can say, and I can say,
On the summer morning,
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day that Christ was born on,
The day that Christ was born on,
When the wand’ring, lonely sheep,
Find at last a shady pool,
You can say, and I can say,
On the outback station,
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day Christ brought salvation,
The day Christ brought salvation.

When the ranges turn to flame,
And the winds like trumpets blow,
You can say, and I can say,
Seven times and seven,
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day that Christ came from Heaven,
The day that Christ came from Heaven.
But when summer’s shining moon,
Dips a silver chalice bright,
You can say, and I can say,
Joyously and airy –
Here at last is Christmas Day,
The day Christ smiled at Mary,
The day Christ smiled at Mary.

NOEL-TIME

Now once again it’s Noel time,
And ev’ry steeple rings;
The sun is like the great gold star
That led the Eastern Kings;
O come with me where hills are brown,
And Christmas Bush grows wild,
So we can make a Christmas crown
To grace a Kingly Child
O let us seek in Noel time,
Through sunshine and through shade,
Until we find the Christmas Bush
His Kingly hands have made;
The fires are burning on the hill,
The smoke is coming down,
But Christmas Bush is blooming still
To make a Kingly Crown.