Carol of the Bells
Digital Song Download • Traditional • A Light Classical Christmas
[ALCC-04]

Carol of the Bells "Carol of the Bells" (also known as the "Ukrainian Bell Carol") was adapted from "Shchedryk" by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. It was a part of the Ukrainian National Chorus reportoire during its 1,000-plus concert tour around Europe and the Americas and was introduced to American audiences on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall.

This rendition features 4 classical guitars, cello, and violins passing the familiar bell melody from instrument to instrument.

Originally a Ukrainian folk song that tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year, the carol has been widely used in advertising, and humorous versions of it have appeared on South Park, Family Guy and Saturday Night Live. One famous use is in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, when the child Kevin McCallister is setting traps to catch the inept thieves Marv and Harry. Canadian band Barenaked Ladies performed a re-arranged version on their Christmas album Barenaked for the Holidays.

The English language lyrics were written in 1936 by Peter Wilhousky of NBC Radio. The song reminded of Wilhousky of ringing bells and he captured that imagery in his lyric.