Download   “Mary’s Boy Child” probably isn’t instantly recognizable to you as a holiday tune.  But it’s the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem and certainly should be in your Christmas repertoire.

This was a HUGE song for Harry Belafonte in 1957 and was the first ever to sell a million copies in the United Kingdom.  It was originally a West Indian piece written by songwriter Jester Hairston, who later popularized the spiritual “Amen” during the civil rights movement in the United States.  Belafonte’s version was very slow and just a bit maudlin.  It was the first record to play over 4 minutes and still be a hit, as the attention span of most listeners is absurdly short.  A Caribbean vocal group named “Boney M.” did a cover of “Mary’s Boy Child” in 1978 – much faster with an appealing reggae beat that gave them a #1 hit they sorely needed at the time.  That’s the arrangement I liked and flagrantly tried to duplicate here – because I have no shame.

If you’re going to perform this during your Christmas show, you’ll have to mute tracks 4 and 5,  as I needed two tracks to recreate the 4-part harmony. My favorite lyric line is in the chorus: “And man will live forevermore/because of Christmas Day”.  Think of that, people! We can live forever!  But only if we acknowledge that night in Bethlehem for the miracle it was.  Certainly a time for rejoicing.