NEW  ZEALAND
FOLK * SONG

An Upside Down Christmas
Shirley Murray

Song list - Home

A lively new tune adds Christmas joy to a rather staid old New Zealand hymn.





  1. Carol our Christmas, an upside down Christmas;
    The snow is not falling and trees are not bare.
    Carol the summer, and welcome the Christ Child,
    Warm in our sunshine and sweetness of air.
    Sing of the gold and the green and the sparkle,
    Water and river and lure of the beach.
    Sing in the happiness of open spaces,
    Sing a nativity summer can reach!

  2. Shepherds and musterers move over hillsides.
    Finding not angels but sheep to be shorn;
    Wise ones make journeys whatever the season.
    Searching for signs of the truth to be born.
    Right side up Christmas belongs to the universe,
    Made in the moment a woman gives birth;
    Hope is the Jesus gift, love is the offering,
    Everywhere, anywhere, here on the earth.

  3. Carol our Christmas, an upside down Christmas;
    Snow is not falling and trees are not bare.
    Carol the summer, and welcome the Christ Child,
    Warm in our sunshine and sweetness of air.



Old hymn tune:

This joyful carol was formerly sung to a rather staid hymn tune in 4-4 time and using only a limited range of notes.

It was much loved by elderly members of the congregation, but its mood did not match the words about gold and green and sparkle and the children's joy on the open beach.

Here is the old tune.
One wet summer holidays, its sombre mood encouraged some children to sing it to these words.

We're sad at Christmas, a very wet Christmas,
The rain's not stopped falling, we can't go and play
We're too glum for carols about the good Christ child,
O God, send us sunshine for our holiday
.

 

Other NZ Christmas songs

 
Te Harinui
Not on a snowy night
By star or candlelight..
.
Backblocks Nativity
...So her kid was born in that roadman's shack
By the light of a lamp that'd hardly burn...
A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree
On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A pukeko in a ponga tree...
Sticky Beak the Kiwi
He's notified old Santa Claus to notify the deer
That he will pull the Christmas sleigh in the southern hemisphere...
Märie Te Pö   Silent Night
Märie te pö, tapu te pö
Marino, marama
Ko te Whäea, me te Tama...
Peaceful night, holy night,
calm, bright.
See the mother and baby boy...
One on a Tractor
We three kings of Orient are
One on a tractor, two in a car...
Christmas in New Zealand
A chance to share the good times in the summer sun
Another family holiday's begun
The Jersey Cow Came Mooing
The jersey cow came mooing, mooing, mooing.
The jersey cow came mooing to the old shed door...
The Southern Cross Looks Down
O little town of Bethlehem,
the Southern Cross looks down...
 



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Published November 30, 2000, revised Dec 16, 2001