As I’ve previously mentioned, I have a soft spot for classic Christmas songs, and by classic I mean songs so old that no one is sure how they came about. This is another one of those -- The Coventry Carol.

The Coventry Carol can be traced back to at least the sixteenth century and has been sung to various melodies. To say it's a sombre song might be an understatement -- it's delivered as a lullaby sung by the mothers of children to be killed by King Herrod (Massacre of the Innocents).

I first encountered it as a kid on the A Very Special Christmas album. It was sung by Alison Moyet (of Yazoo). I'm still quite fond of that rendition but the version by RASA (from Avondale Music's The Christmas Wish 2 album) has eclipsed it.

Check it out above or hear it, and a bunch of other cool Christmas songs from Newfoundland artists on the 2020 Newfoundland Christmas Playlist.