The Abominable “O Holy Night”

I'm having a really hard time listening to this. Must I finish it? PLEASE let me stop! Pretty please?

Jordan, what have you done? It's incredawful! I may have to sneak this into something serious.

In other "church oops" news, there's this little nugget:

St. James United Church of Christ in Limerick, Penn. had this verse as the header of their web site until bloggers had a field day in early February:

"If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine" -Luke 4:7

- Scott

Moments after I posted that comment, a friend reminded me of an, uh, interesting video that's even better.

I give you...Li'l Markie:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4PLFDGPJl40

There's another MP3 from this guy, but I care too much for all of you to subject you to it.

This is better than William Hung! It was so painfully funny I broke into a cold sweat when he "hit" those high notes.

Eric Cartman couldn't have sung it better.

You guys don't know bad singing until you hear karaoke bar singing in the Philippines (where I'm from). And these singers truly believe they are good. It's not too uncommon to have shootouts at bars because of bad singing that offends other trigger happy bar-goers. Many a man has been shot on account of Frank Sinatra's "My Way." It's ridiculous.

This "O Holy Night" guy sounds like he's faking it just to be funny. But funny nevertheless...

This is hysterical. Thank you.

This is the most beatiful song in the world! When he hits that "fall..." man i cried it was so beautiful1

that was so funny I laughed for
5 min. that was awsome

god that was weirdly depressing to me. it reminds me of all the people who try out for american idol, and are handily rejected because they are godawful, and then they cry and say "I KNOW I'm a good singer" out in the hallway. Having seen THAT, I think this singer is, sadly, on the level.

I also think this is what I sound like at a karaoke bar and am grateful for gun control.

I really believe this is intentionally funny, and I hope all of you whose aesthetic sensibilities were offended can take comfort in the thought. This strikes me as a particularly successful parody of the way certain Christians can often take something beautiful (the song itself) and make it cheesy and kitschy. We've all been squirming in the pews when this kind of thing was real; it's such a release to be able to laugh at it.

I laughed so hard I cried when I first listened to this. I 've never heard anything so exquistely awful in my life. That last note is either complete ignorance or genius.

That was the funniest thing I have ever heard. Honestly. Our band director was the first to discover it and he played it on repeat for two days everytime anyone came into the band room. I cried the first time I heard it and I literally couldn't breathe. It was hilarious.

I think he might actually think it is good, but it is more likely that it is intentionally funny, but he has a genuinly awful voice.

Oh yeah, I'm also bringing it to my church retreat so we can share the joy. Haha, thanks for posting this.

sounds like a cross between steve martin, adam sandler and "michael scott" from the office...

I am heading to the fireplace to get a hot poker and jam it into my now-bleeding eardrums to TRY to remove that from my mind and memory! HHHAH!!! This has GOT to be a joke!!! But funny as ever!

This is a waste of space, are you kidding. This is really really stupid. You must be really bored or supid to listen to the whole thing.

Dude.

Ouch!!!

I think it's funny how Nathan Mueller (2 comments up) spells "stupid" wrong when referring to all of us as such.

About the song - brilliant!

I think the singer possibly has cerebal palsey and is singing his heart out for The Lord Jesus Christ. To me, it is beautiful.

uh...

i really thought he was pretty good. he certainly has more talent than me. i don't know what's so funny about such a nice christmas carol.

;-)

The sad thing is,
I'm almost certain that this creature thinks it's done more than fair justice to this beautiful hymn.

It has to be a joke. While the losing pitch would be hard to accomplish, there are some things this guy does that hint at his real ability to sing. For one thing, the song gets progressively funnier, as if it were planned. But there are three things that really give it away: 1. The vowels. People who have never sung before or have but have never been trained don't keep one constant vowel on long notes. For example the word "devine" an untrained singer might sing "de-vah-eeen" instead of leaving the dipthong for the very end, as a trained singer would. This guy's vowels are good. 2. His use of breath support is actually kind of impressive, with the exception of breathing in the middle of "devine" at the very end. He breathes silently and he goes long phrases without breathing. Even trained singers have a hard time with this song and not breathing in the middle of words. 3. Although his pitch sags on many of the notes, on the high ones, he gets up there. Even if he has to scream it and makes horrible sounds. Untrained singers, when they can't hit a note or don't think they can hit a note, they change the tune and sing a lower one. But this guy always hits the note, even the high note at the end, which second sopranos have a hard time with. Therefore, this guy can actually sing.

Kella,

Holy crap...that's the kind of analysis we're looking for.

Jordan

love it!

I have a question about the lyrics. In the main chorus, the words "O Night Divine" are used repeatedly, and it seems to me the writer is worshiping the night itself as something divine. The second verse actually praises the Lord Jesus, and it rings more true to me than the main chorus. If the word "divine" can be used to mean "blessed" or "favored" then I'm OK with the wording, but "divine" strikes me as a term reserved for, well, the divine. I understand that believers can be participants in "the divine nature" of Jesus, but a night?

Probably, though, the writer was enraptured with the significance of the event itself. The historical reality of the Divine One stepping down into the darkness of his creation gone terribly wrong ("in sin and error pining") to redeem it is the most wonderful truth. That truth outshines the worst singing of the most beautiful (if theologically questionable) Christmas song ever.

That .. was beautiful.

PLEASE keep it online, forever.

As to whether a good singer could sing this bad - heck yes. Surely you've heard your talented singin' friends goofing off like this. And surely it takes talent to be this horrendous - although perhaps talent of a special kind -

As a Music Minister, I can tell you that this is one of the most famously butchered songs in local churches all over Christendom. Every wanna-a-be soloist loves this song. It's glorious when sung well (which isn't easy) and absolutely hideous otherwise. This rendition sounds like something my brother and I would make when goofing around to test one anothers bladder control. I think the singer is a passive-aggressive worship pastor with a great sense of humor who is letting off steam. I vote with Kella -- there are hints to some training (and the actual quality of the recording sounds like something done on fairly decent equipment - not my living room, anyway). Thanks for the fun. Thank you, Lord, that you have a sense of humor with us!

As I've shared this over the years I notice the musically gifted seem to find it the funniest. The nightmare precision of the song sets me laughing to the point of passing out. It starts out bad and astonishingly enough, continues to get worse until the end! It's clearly intentional and the range and understanding of just how marvelously one can butcher such a beautiful song is hilarious!

If you don't mean it, then don't sing it. It's simple. It's a shame one puts abilities to disgrace, waste and probably further damage to his vocal cords. Ah, grow up.

omg.

I think the windows in my house broke, and the dogs around the block are HOWLING!

Plus, I can't breathe.

*dies laughing*

HORRIBLE CRAP

Hi -
I've had this song posted on my blog at www.fredmckinnon.com. It's been funny because somehow, last year - a radio station in CA played it in a contest and attributed it to me!

Anyway - I was contacted by the mysterious "real singer" last night, and will do an interview today - I'm posting the updates on my blog. I cannot believe the real singer is finally coming forth to tell his story.

Fred

I think this is someone really trying and believing he can sing. May God Bless him for his courage

Jordan -
The story is now online, along with a 1-hour phone interview with the "real" singer:
http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/category/o-holy-night-saga/

Enjoy!
FRED

At our Thanksgiving dinner last night, my sister & brother-in-law told us about this song. They'd actually eaten Thanksgiving lunch with his side of the family, which actually included "Steve M." - a cousin. They told me the story (which is identical to the interview he gave on this website), and told me to "google" the song when I got home. I just listened to it, and it was as funny as I thought it would be. Steve (and the whole "M." family) is incredibly talented, and many of them are really big in the music ministry. Their dad & uncles were a very popular quartet in their day. It's fun to know that I have that connection to a funny song that is so popular on the internet! Six degrees? Nope - in this case for me - only one! Wow! (I feel famous myself.... LOL!)

FELIX I KNOW ITS YOU. TITO G

why is it so hard to find this song to download? is there an easier way that I just don't know about? please someone help me. i can't find it on limewire...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! This song made me burst out laughing almost in tears when i first heard it!!! I can't really tell if he can sing or not it is just really funny!!!!

BRUTAL...perfect precusor to the next American Idol try outs. Sounds a bit like my dad in church...lol :)

I think this guy auditioned for my band ;-) He sucked back then too.
God Awful, makes you wanna consider Atheism.

I found this recording absurd, hurtful, and down-right hilarious. Absurd because the guy thinks he can sing, hurtful because I rolled off the couch and into the coffee table, and, well, the third needs to explanation. Props to the singer of this great holiday song.

Oh my goodness...I am crying...my face hurts...my stomache hurts...I think I just pee-d on myself for the first time in 25 years...NO ONE in the office can function like an adult right now we are all rolling on the floor and falling out of our chairs!! We have listened to it for the past half hour and just can't stop. Oh heavens me...this is the best ever - THANK YOU.

That surely has to be a joke. Thats the worst singing ever. My ears are bleeding.

I know the identity of the singer. It is a well know Contemporary Christian recording artist. He was in the studio recording and started goofing around. Someone decided to lay it down on tape. They weren�t� suppose to let it out of the studio but thankfully they did!

Oh My God, My teeth hurt from that. I put the MP3 on my psp and played it to people at my school. they writhed in pain. Has this man been shot yet?

This should be destroyed and never allowed to be played!

The reason why I like this so much, is because it sounds like something I would do. I myself am a vocalist, and sometimes I like to just mess around with my break between my chest and falsetto voice and make ridiculous noises. So, I can understand how this man, who some have determined can actually sing, would find joy in sounding like a vocally impaired fool. Even though this is slightly disrespectful in the sense that the song is about Jesus Christ, you can't help but laugh histerically at the sound of it!!!

Hunter

Not regarding this song, but your request for "feedback on the best instance of comedy (intentional or otherwise) within the realm of Christianity."

I found this book on the clearance rack at my local Christian bookstore recently. For some unfathomable reason, I didn't buy it immediately, and by the time I went back, it was gone:

From This Day Forward: Making Your Vows Last a Lifetime
by Ted Haggard (Author), Gayle Haggard (Author)

I know the person who sang this. He genuinely thought he could sing; his father, in an attempt to prove to his son that he couldn't sing at all, had his son sing a recording of it. When it was played back for him, that's when he finally accepted that he couldn't sing.

He got voice lessons, and now, he can sing pretty well.

I live in Southeastern Wisconsin, and last time I caught up with the guy, he was playing at a local non-denominational church.

So, there you have it. The actual story.

In 2003 two radio DJ`s in Sacramento
Ca. played this on there the morning
show they stated it came from a catholic priest who sang this for his
congragation on christmas eve that
year they played it just a couple of
days after christmas. They said he
thought he was doing a good job
no one had the heart to tell him other wise.

When I was in college and living in the dorms, we played this so often and so loud we got a noise complaint. We would laugh so hard we would literally roll on the floor laughing.

A beautiful Christmas song to be sure. This rendition reminded me of a song on a Gaithers video done by a deaf woman, Sue someone, who had a Mother that loved music and she used to sing to Sue with Sue's hand on her throat. Sue learned to sing from the vibrations, not the actual sound. I listened to this and found a tear as he "fell on his knees". Something inside me said he was for real and this was the best he could do. God forgive us for not being grateful for what "we" can do and poke fun at others who try.

What's this guy's name?

At our church we had a guy ask if he could sing Amazing Grace as a solo, story being that he heard Elvis sing it as a child and it had been his favorite gospel song ever since. Well, the Sunday came and he stood there and did the most awful Elvis impersonation you can imagine. The poor Music Minister sat there in shocked silence. The youth tried to hide their laughter by ducking behind the pews, and a rotund deacon sat there quivering like a bowl of jello. The guy singing was oblivious to the whole thing and doesn't know to this day how he looked.

HOAX ! Its too out there to be faked. He takes himself seriously at first, slipping off key and then totally blows out his voice, I'm a pro singer and he's a comedian.

Instead of calling it 'gay marriage' why not call it 'gay mariage' spelled and pronounced the way French people spell and pronounce it (like mah-ree-azh but with a funny r). On our way we briefly visited the Bhuvangiri fort. Our young and stylish star Siddharth did a hindi movie called Rang De Basanti two years back along with Aamir Khan and Madhavan. Thank you to my friends for your invitation to share the happy day with you. I used a good combination of different stamps here and watercolour pencils.

wow.... this is sheer proof that GOD has a sense of humor...