We love our annual Christmas tree hunt and it’s been going on for a long time. I have 35 mm slides of hunts from 30 years ago…kids and dogs and Christmas trees.
I believe there are two melodies for “Away in a Manger”. This is the one I learned as a little boy. Even then I loved the image of a baby sleeping in hay. It certainly wasn’t a religious thing for me and I could not understand any of the other verses. In my defense I will tell you that even though 5th grade Bible class was mandatory in Kentucky where I grew up, that was countered by the fact that my parents were Unitarians. After I recorded this show I found myself still thinking of babies sleeping in hay or in a blanket on the ground somewhere…maybe in the desert not too far across the border or a mom and baby in a shelter…anyway, that’s what this song does to me and I’m happy to steal the simple but beautiful melody for my own purposes and hope you liked that.
The photos are mine. That’s Ms. Mesquitey inspecting this year’s tree. Our dog Chuchu is telling me the botanical name of the border pinon. Good girl! And if you’d like to know more about Pinus discolor, Buster and I recommend The Piñon Pine, A Natural and Cultural History by Ronald Lanner. It was published in 1981 on University of Nevada Press. See if your local library has a copy.
