Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

We'll conclude our look at holiday songs with a tune a bit more somber than the rest.  However since this year is the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's death, it seemed appropriate to look at the one original Christmas song that John recorded, which by the way was also a protest song over the Vietnam War.

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1971 by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records.....It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the British singles chart. The song's first appearance on album was the 1975 compilation Shaved Fish. Although ostensibly a protest song about the Vietnam War, it has become a Christmas standard and has appeared on several Christmas albums.

The lyric is based on a campaign in late 1969 by Lennon and Ono, who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read: "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko". The cities included New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Helsinki. At the time of the song's release, the US was deeply entrenched in the unpopular Vietnam War. The line "War is over, if you want it, war is over, now!", as sung by the background vocals, was taken directly from the billboards.

The record starts with a barely-audible whisper of Christmas greetings to their children: Yoko whispers "Happy Christmas, Kyoko", then John whispers "Happy Christmas, Julian". The lyric sheet from the 1982 release The John Lennon Collection erroneously gives this introduction as "Happy Christmas, Yoko. Happy Christmas, John".

It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York City in late October 1971, with the help of producer Phil Spector. It features heavily echoed vocals, and a sing-along chorus. The children singing in the background were from the Harlem Community Choir and are credited on the song's single. The lyrics were written by Lennon and Ono, and the melody and chord structure quote the folk standard known as "Stewball."[1] However, Lennon deviates harmonically in crucial ways from the original tune at the beginning of each major section, modulating through secondary keys before arriving back at the main key. This results in a more expansive harmonic progression, while it also lifts the melody higher each time, ultimately into the soprano range where it is passed upward to Yoko Ono and the children's chorus. The striking sense of forward movement and magnification with each modulation and registral change, neither of which is present in the original folk tune, is a key part of the song's expressive appeal. The single was released in the US in December of 1971, but the UK release was delayed until the following November due to a publishing dispute. The song was re-released in the UK on December 20, 1980, shortly after John Lennon's assassination on December 8, peaking at #2.  Source Wikipedia

Here is John Lennon singing Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

And on behalf of the entire staff of Lumen Capital Management we wish you a prosperous 2011!

PS.  Edh Tess, ce-theyan emaenomye!