Ding Dong! Merrily On High

Just in time for your Christmas or Winter performances, we present "Ding Dong! Merrily On High." The song has a great melody, dating back to the 1500s, and it's downright cheerful to sing. That said, the traditional lyrics contain words that are bound to be unfamiliar to young singers, or rather, the words are so old they will seem new. (Swungen, anyone?) That's okay – the lyrics work well for this tune. Listen to the singers on our recording to hear our interpretation of these old words.

The song is arranged in a Celtic style, and as you might expect from a John Riggio Celtic treatment, it is laiden with big drums, penny whistle, and fiddle. There are strings, a celeste, and since it's a Christmas song, it has a generous blend of jingle bells and sleigh bells. (And our fantastic rhythm section is in there, too.)

There is an optional solo at measure 5, sung beautifully for us by Mattie Tom. When you get to the "Gloria" section (bar 21), you'll see that you add a part with each repeat, turning it into a lush 3-part piece by the third time around. As with most of our multi-part songs, parts 2 and 3 are optional, but if you have a crew that can pull it off, it sounds amazing. To that end, there are web extras available online to help your singers learn the parts. (See details on page 76.) We hope this arrangement adds joy to your Christmas season!