The Calypso Carol is a popular modern Christmas carol

Christmas carol

A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...

, with the opening line "See him lying on a bed of straw".

It has often been introduced by BBC announcers and others as a traditional folk carol from the West Indies. The calypso

Calypso music

Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...

 of the title refers to its West Indian flavour, and the words have featured on a set of Caribbean postage stamps. However, both words and music were written by an Englishman, Michael Perry

Michael Perry (hymnwriter)

Michael Arnold Perry was one of the UK's leading hymnwriters of the 20th century. He was closely associated with Jubilate Hymns.-Early life:Michael Perry was born in Beckenham, Kent on 8 March 1942...

, while he was a student at Oak Hill Theological College

Oak Hill Theological College

Oak Hill College is a theological college located on Chase Side in Southgate, London, England. It is one of the largest seminaries in the UK....

 in 1964. Perry became one of the UK's leading contemporary hymn writers, but the Calypso Carol remained his most popular work.

Perry originally wrote the song for a college carol concert, and it only became famous by accident. Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

 was hastily assembling a selection for radio, and included the song to replace a missing recording. It gained popularity and was included in the 1969 songbook Youth Praise 2.

In 1983, the Caribbean island of Nevis

Nevis

Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...

 featured the chorus of "Calypso Carol" on a miniature sheet

Miniature sheet

A souvenir sheet or miniature sheet is a small group of postage stamps still attached to the sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups , or special issues often commemorating some event, such as a national anniversary,...

 of its 1983 Christmas stamps, designed by Jennifer Toombs. The neighbouring island of St Kitts issued a complementary sheet with the slightly older song "Mary's Boy Child

Mary's Boy Child

"Mary's Boy Child" is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. With its religious content, it is also widely performed as a Christmas carol....

".

The long-running BBC programme Songs of Praise

Songs of Praise

Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...

invited viewers to vote for their favourite carols throughout 2005. Tens of thousands of votes were cast, and the Calypso Carol was one of the top ten choices, performed at the Songs of Praise 2005 Christmas Concert at the Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

.

External links

• Calypso carol, lyrics and MIDI music at Christmas Songs website.