Schooner Fare | Home for the Holidays

OGR 8889

Released 1987

Schooner Fare is:
Chuck Romanoff--vocals, twelve-string guitar
Steve Romanoff--vocals, six-string guitar
Tom Rowe--vocals, electric bass, twelve-string guitar, recorder
A production of Outer Green Records
Produced by Schooner Fare
Recorded at E.A.B. Studios, Lewiston, Maine
Recording Engineer--Edward A. Boucher
Mixing Engineers--Tom Rowe, Edward A. Boucher
Mastered at Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs, New York
Mastering Engineer--Tom Coyne
Synthesizers--Mike Braz
Cover concept and design--Gail Waitkun
Cover Photography--Russell Rowe, Gail Waitkun
Cover Layout--Penmor Lithographers, Lewiston, Maine
Special Thanks--Gerard Chamberland, Penny Cary, Zeke Carpenter
In loving memory of Katharine Florence Romanoff
Song List

OLD WORLD CHRISTMAS

VENI EMMANUEL
Veni, veni Emmanuel
	O come, O come, Emmanuel
Captivum solve Israel
	And ransom captive Israel
Qui gemit in exilio
	That mourns in lonely exile here
Privatus Dei filio.
	Until the Son of God appear.
Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel
	Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel
Nascetur pro te, Israel
	Shall come to thee, O Israel

NOEL NOUVELET
Noel nouvelet, Noel chantons ici,
	Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel!
Devotes gen, crions, a Dieu merci!
	Glory to God! Now let your praises swell!
Chantons Noel, puor le Roi nouvelet, Noel!
	Sing we Noel for Christ, the newborn King, Noel!
Chantons Noel pour le Roi nouvelet,
	Sing we Noel for Christ, the newborn King,
Noel nouvelet, Noel chantons ici!
	Christmas comes anew, O let us sing Noel!

O TANNENBAUM
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum
	O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Wie treu sind deine Blatter!
	With faithful leaves unchanging!
Du grunst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
	Not only green in summer's heat,
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit,
	But also winter's snow and sleet,
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
	O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Wie treu sind deine Blatter!
	With faithful leaves unchanging!

A LA NANITA NANA
A la nanita nana, nanita ea nanita ea,
	A la nanita nana, nanita ea nanita ea,
Mi Jesus teine sueno, bendite sea, bendito sea,
	Sleep, sleep, my little Jesus, 
   May peace attend Thee, May peace attend Thee.
fuentecilla que corres clara y sonora
	To the world, little Savior, New hope thou'rt bringing
Ruisenor q'en la selva cantando lloras,
	All the world, little Savior, Thy praises singing,
Callad mientras la cuna se balancea.
	God's angels hov'ring o'er Thee chant alleluia.
A la nanita nana, nanita ea.
	A la nanita nana, nanita ea.


WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME
Words and music by Steve Romanoff
© 1987

All bundled up against the chill, and
Candles on your windowsill, and
Peace on earth to those who will
Believe that dreams come true,
December snow and winter rime,
These holidays that measure time,
Each precious day that you are mine
And I am here with you.

The songs we sing this time of year,
The way we'll travel anywhere
To deck the halls with love and care
Before the friendly flames,
The way we show the way we feel,
The way we share our Christmas meal
With those whose faith is just as real
Though known by different names.

Just once upon a time there came
A message from above,
Now once a year you come to find
If we have finally learned to love.

Outside the fallen snow is deep,
Upstairs I wish they all would go to sleep,
'Cause I've got hasty promises to keep
Around the empty tree,
Or they will wake before I'm through,
And there's still so very much to do,
So these are only but a few
Of all the things that you
And Christmas mean to me.


MARY'S BOYCHILD
Words and music by Jester Hairston

Long time ago in Bethlehem
So the Holy Bible says,
Mary's boychild, Jesus Christ,
Was born on Christmas day.

	Hark now, hear the angels sing,
	A new king's born today,
	And man will live for evermore
	Because of Christmas Day.

While shepards watched their flocks by night
The saw a bright new shining star,
And heard a choir from heaven sing
The music came from afar.

Now Joseph and his wife Mary
Came to Bethlehem that night,
They found no place to bear her child.
Not a single room was in sight,

By and by they found a little nook,
In a stable all forlorn,
And in a manger cold and dark
Mary's little boychild was born.

	Trumpets sound and angels sing
	Listen to what they say,
	Man will live for evermore
	Because of Christmas Day.


FIRST SNOW
Words and music by Tom Rowe
© 1987

Early in the morning there's a message in the air.
The last birds of summer have all gone.
The earth is in a doze; The trees are standing bare,
And a light breeze whispers winter's comin' on.
Many folks have gone away to places in the sun;
And some who stay will wish that they are therel
But I'll go to the forest and watch the winter come.
It's a time of peace the earth and I will share.

	And back inside the house there is love and there's laughter;
	There's a woman and some brandy and a warming fire's glow.
	But I'll linger here a while, not quite certain what I'm after
	To watch the beauty of the first snow

The woods are oh so still in this early afternoon,
And I dare not break the silence of this day.
A freight off in the distance whistles out a mournful tune
That hangs a moment then just slips away.
Now the flakes begin to fall, reluctantly at first,
And the quiet deepens silent as a womb.
The snow begins to gather and cover all the earth.
There's a chickadee, a deer and me in the now late afternoon.

The evening comes in quickly, soon I must go home.
Farewell to the trees, the birds, the doe.
There's a peace within me now like one I've never known.
The peace that nature brings with the first snow.
And in the morning there'll be children making angels here.
Skiers will make tracks there down below.
But for now there's only me and the doe that ventures near,
To see and touch the coming of first snow.


A'SOALIN/ESA ENAI
Noel Stookey/Shlomo Carlebach

A soal, soal, soal cake,
Please good Missus, a soal cake,
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,
Any good thing to make us all merry,
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him who made us all.

The streets are very dirty,
My shoes are very thin,
I have a little pocket
To put a penny in,
If you haven't got a penny
A halfpenny will do,
If you haven't got a halfpenny
Then God bless you.

Go down into your cellar
And see what you can find,
If your barrels are not empty,
I hope you will be kind,
I hope you will be kind
With your apple and strawber'
For we'll come no more a'soalin'
'Til this time next year.

Esa enai el haharim
	I lift up my eyes to the Lord,
Meiayin meiyayain,
	From whence will come my help,
Yavo ezri

Ezri meiim hashem,
	My help cometh from the Lord,
Oseh shamayim varets.
	Maker of heaven and earth.


LO! HOW A ROSE E'RE BLOOMING

Lo1 How a Rose e're blooming from tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse's lineage coming as men of old have sung.
It came a floweret bright amid the snows of winter,
When half-spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it the rose I have in mind.
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright, she bore to men a savior,
When half-spent was the night.

This flow'r whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air.
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere.
True man yet very God! From sin and death he saves us
And lightens every load.


SONG FOR A WINTER'S NIGHT
Words and music by Gordon Lightfoot

The lamp is burning low upon my table top,
The snow is softly falling,
The aire is still in the silence of my room,
I hear your voice softly calling,
If I could only have you near,
To breathe a sigh or two,
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
On this winter night with you.

The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead,
My glass is almost empty,
I read again between the lines upon the page,
The words of love you sent me,
If I could know within my heart,
That you were lonely too,
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love,
On this winter night with you.

The fire is dying, now my lamp is growing dim,
The shades of night are lifting,
The morning light steals across my window pane,
Where webs of snow are drifting,
If I could only have you near,
To breathe a sigh or two,
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love,
And to be once again with you,
To be once again with you.


LORD OF THE DANCE
Words by Sidney Carter

I danced in the morning when the earth was begun,
I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
I came down from Heaven and I danced on Earth
In Bethlehem I had my birth, and ...

	Dance, then, wherever you may be,
	I am the Lord of the Dance, said He,
	And I lead you all wherever you may be,
	And I lead you all in the dance, said He.

I danced for the scribe and the pharisee,
They wouldn't dance and they wouldn't follow me,
I danced for the fishermen James and John,
They followed me and the dance went on...

I danced on the sabbath and I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame,
They whipped me and stripped me and hung me high,
And left me there on the cross to die...

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black,
It's hard to dance with the Devil on your back,
They buried my body and they thought I done
But I am the light and the dance goes on, and...


PEACEABLE KINGDOM
Words and music by Rob Carlson

The leopard with the harmless kid lay down,
And not one savage beast was seen to frown,
the wolf did with the lambkin dwell in peace,
His grim carniv'rous nature there did cease,
The lion with the fatling on did move,
And a little child was leading them in love.

Long ago there was a Quaker preacher
Who had a dream that every creature
Came and stood assembled at his side,
And he painted the sight that had sweetened his nights
Fully one hundred times before he died.

A killin' lion, a snake and a child
Wide-eyed and staring like the sun had stopped,
In time it ceased to move,
And the wolf and the lamb
Came and ate from his hand
And a manchild was leading them in love.

	Oh, my Friends, have you seen all the lines and the spaces,
	The colors that the Quaker painter sees,
	In the peaceable kingdom that shines in the faces
	Of people from more gentle times than these.

I find myself adrift these days,
And endless maze of ends and ways,
The world just seems so crazy to me here,
Look away, look away, back or forward from today
To the visions of neither fools nor seers.

Such a beautiful place, full of joy, full of grace,
It was bathed in a saintly yellow light,
Too unlearned to know that such things can't be so,
We must only believe that they might,

	Oh, my Friends...


ENGLISH CAROLS

Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king,
Peace on Earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconcile,
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With angelic hosts proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem,
Hark, the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn king.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come,
Let Earth receive her king,
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and heaven and nature sing,.

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
'Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la...
Don we now our gay apparel
Fa la la...
Troll the ancient yuletide carol,
Fa la la...

See the blazing yule before us
Fa la la...
Strike the harp and join the chorus,
Fa la la...
Follow me in merry measure,
Fa la la...
While I tell of yuletide treasure,
Fa la la...