Being an internet refuge for Graeme McMillan
I don’t think I’d ever heard this (“trad,” as the music books would call it) song before this version by Belle & Sebastian, but I adore it for its gentleness and the harmonies that appear in the latter “Rejoice/Rejoice” refrains. A quiet moment of holiday cheer for a day that’s been far, far too busy for my own good (I still have work to do; this is me taking something approaching a break).
Here’s Sufjan Stevens doing another version:
In a strange way, this song reminds me of McAlmont & Butler’s “Yes” – It’s the jangly guitar and the fact that this song just builds, just grows into an epic that’s irresistible and so exuberant and filled with a particular joy. I love the way it becomes so repetitive, the organ becoming a spiral of riff until it falls into the final notes and everything ends. This is one of those songs that never fails to make me happy, and make me want to dance, as silly as that may sound. This is the sound of the best of Scotland in my head, in many ways; I was never a massive Belle & Sebastian fan, but I shall always, always love them for this.