CHRISTMAS CAROLS ADVENT CALENDAR DAY NINETEEN!
Yess! More timely today! :D
Day 19: Fum Fum Fum
I totally loved this song as a kid. What is the one thing that every literate English-speaking child knows about giants? Answer: they like to say, “Fee Fie Foe Fum” before threatening to eat people in rhyme. Therefore, I immediately assumed that this was a carol sung from the narrative perspective of a giant. Even today, I think this assumption greatly improves one’s enjoyment of the song. :D
In actuality, this is still a very interesting carol. The original lyrics are in Catalan, with popular translations into Spanish and English. The music it’s set to is quite lively and lends itself perfectly to choral arrangements, with different vocal parts interweaving, etc. It is thought to have been composed during the baroque period.
And what is that titular, giant-esque “fum” referring to? According to the internet (god if I had a dollar for each time I said that), it can either refer to a strumming sound from a stringed instrument (most likely), or it could be the Catalan word for smoke (though in what context this would make sense I fail to see). I think it sounds like laughter hummed underneath one’s breath, the product of barely containable goodwill and cheer. :D Whatever it is, it is super jolly and just totally puts you in the mood to eat roast nuts around a crackling fire, drink gallons of mulled cider, and grind some bones to bake your bread.
Catalan lyrics, from Wikipedia:
El vint-i-cinc de desembre
fum, fum, fum (bis)
Ha nascut un minyonet
ros i blanquet, ros i blanquet;
Fill de la Verge Maria,
n'és nat en una establia.
Fum, fum, fum.
Aquí dalt de la muntanya
fum, fum, fum (bis)
Si n'hi ha dos pastorets
abrigadets, abrigadets;
amb la pell i la samarra,
mengen ous i botifarra.
Fum, fum, fum.
Qui dirà més gran mentida?
Fum, fum, fum (bis)
Ja respond el majoral
amb gran cabal, amb gran cabal;
jo faré deu mil camades
amb un salt totes plegades.
Fum, fum, fum.
There are pretty much a bajillion English versions, all slightly different. My favorites are the ones that begin with, “On December five and twenty,” just because I enjoy the archaic word order, and it gives the lyrics a nice rhythmic bounce. :D Here’s a version I randomly grabbed off the internet:
On December five and twenty,
Fum, Fum, Fum! (repeat)
On this night a child was born
pink and white, at the break of morn.
In a stable dark and dreary,
lay the son of virgin Mary,
Fum, Fum, Fum!
On December five and twenty,
Fum, Fum, Fum! (repeat)
On December’s most important day,
let us be gay, let us be gay!
We go first to church and then
we have the sweetest buns and candy,
Fum, Fum, Fum!
God will send us days of feasting,
Fum, Fum, Fum! (repeat)
Both in hot months and in cold,
for young and old, for young and old!
When we tell the Holy Story,
ever singing of His glory,
Fum, Fum, Fum!
Videos!
Here’s a version being sung in the original Catalan:
Another Catalan version, this one with adorable instrumentation:
And in English:
I was going to include a Spanish version, but for some reason 98% of the Spanish language youtube uploads are sung by little children. which can sometimes be appealing, but is usually monstrous. :P
enjooooooy! <3
Day 19: Fum Fum Fum
I totally loved this song as a kid. What is the one thing that every literate English-speaking child knows about giants? Answer: they like to say, “Fee Fie Foe Fum” before threatening to eat people in rhyme. Therefore, I immediately assumed that this was a carol sung from the narrative perspective of a giant. Even today, I think this assumption greatly improves one’s enjoyment of the song. :D
In actuality, this is still a very interesting carol. The original lyrics are in Catalan, with popular translations into Spanish and English. The music it’s set to is quite lively and lends itself perfectly to choral arrangements, with different vocal parts interweaving, etc. It is thought to have been composed during the baroque period.
And what is that titular, giant-esque “fum” referring to? According to the internet (god if I had a dollar for each time I said that), it can either refer to a strumming sound from a stringed instrument (most likely), or it could be the Catalan word for smoke (though in what context this would make sense I fail to see). I think it sounds like laughter hummed underneath one’s breath, the product of barely containable goodwill and cheer. :D Whatever it is, it is super jolly and just totally puts you in the mood to eat roast nuts around a crackling fire, drink gallons of mulled cider, and grind some bones to bake your bread.
Catalan lyrics, from Wikipedia:
El vint-i-cinc de desembre
fum, fum, fum (bis)
Ha nascut un minyonet
ros i blanquet, ros i blanquet;
Fill de la Verge Maria,
n'és nat en una establia.
Fum, fum, fum.
Aquí dalt de la muntanya
fum, fum, fum (bis)
Si n'hi ha dos pastorets
abrigadets, abrigadets;
amb la pell i la samarra,
mengen ous i botifarra.
Fum, fum, fum.
Qui dirà més gran mentida?
Fum, fum, fum (bis)
Ja respond el majoral
amb gran cabal, amb gran cabal;
jo faré deu mil camades
amb un salt totes plegades.
Fum, fum, fum.
There are pretty much a bajillion English versions, all slightly different. My favorites are the ones that begin with, “On December five and twenty,” just because I enjoy the archaic word order, and it gives the lyrics a nice rhythmic bounce. :D Here’s a version I randomly grabbed off the internet:
On December five and twenty,
Fum, Fum, Fum! (repeat)
On this night a child was born
pink and white, at the break of morn.
In a stable dark and dreary,
lay the son of virgin Mary,
Fum, Fum, Fum!
On December five and twenty,
Fum, Fum, Fum! (repeat)
On December’s most important day,
let us be gay, let us be gay!
We go first to church and then
we have the sweetest buns and candy,
Fum, Fum, Fum!
God will send us days of feasting,
Fum, Fum, Fum! (repeat)
Both in hot months and in cold,
for young and old, for young and old!
When we tell the Holy Story,
ever singing of His glory,
Fum, Fum, Fum!
Videos!
Here’s a version being sung in the original Catalan:
Click to viewAnother Catalan version, this one with adorable instrumentation:
And in English:
I was going to include a Spanish version, but for some reason 98% of the Spanish language youtube uploads are sung by little children. which can sometimes be appealing, but is usually monstrous. :P
enjooooooy! <3