This is a Christmas song for those whose Christmas is in winter. It’s not as recent as some of the others in Unbound, but they were putting up a lot of Christmas songs to give us material for the season coming up quickly.
It has words by Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. and music by Perry Nelson.
The sheet music can be bought at GIA, who provide the text in their preview.
I suppose the initial inspiration was Shakespeare, but Shakespeare’s text makes for a very different sort of carol:
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.