On our drive in to work this morning, Bridgette and I were soothed by the smooth tidings of Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s surreal 1977 holiday duet “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth”.
Recorded just a month before Crosby’s death, the pairing worked through the song’s arrangement just a few hours before taping began. Bowie, not a fan of “Little Drummer Boy”, asked if there was another part he could sing, and so the “Peace on Earth” melody was composed that afternoon.
The result is a strange intergenerational mash-up that listeners have loved ever since. I’ve long enjoyed it myself; that is, I loved it until I took a close listen to the words during the song’s re-written bridge:
Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can
Nice sentiment, but every child must be made to care? Doesn’t that seem a bit overbearing, or even downright fascist?
“We have a problem with the children, sir.”
“What is it, corporal?”
“They – they don’t care.”
“But don’t they know that every child must be made aware, and every child must be made to care?”
“Yes sir, they do.”
“Very well then. Do what you must to make them care.”
This all reminds me of Crosby’s infamously overbearing discipline his kids have written about. Just imagine ol’ Bing, belt in hand, standing over his huddled, shirtless child –
“Care, dammit! I will MAKE you care!!”
*whipping*
“Father, please! No more!”
“I will beat you to death if you don’t care enough for your fellow man!”
*the child pulls over a bookcase in self defense, which only serves to further anger Bing, who tears his cardigan in two*
“I AM BING CROSBY!!!!!”
*a painted, androgynous David Bowie stands at Crosby’s right side and obliquely stares into the distance*
Well, ol’ Bing was known to pistol whip a kid or to for being to selfish in his day. Boy have the times mellowed and now children are free to beat each other up for copies of Grand Theft Auto without fear of Reprisal.
Wait…I should have used Halo 3 in that example to portray myself as more current with todays kids.
that was the most awkward music video i’ve ever seen.
the Axl Rose/Elton John clip of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is pretty awkward too. it starts out bad: Elton’s vocals, singing his part an octave too low. then turns awesome: Axl tears onto the stage in a kilt and howls the line, “SO YOU THINK YOU CAN STONE ME AND SPIT IN MY EEEYE!!” that part raises goose bumps (seriously). but then when Axl and Elton finish the song arm in arm, it gets icky again.
totally unrelated: my favorite christmas album (besides Elvis’s of course) is “Christmas” by a fellow named Bruce Cockburn (no, that’s not a sly innuendo like Woodcock… it’s really his name). sparse, yet rich, earthy arrangements of ancient carols. check it out!