An e-mail that saddened me:

“To John Derbyshire—Your observation about people dodging the ‘C-word’ has

a sadder side that, as a music teacher at a children’s conservatory in the

NYC area (Westchester), I have just witnessed in my classes. Today I had the

opportunity to discuss, with some veteran teachers, what we have all

perceived just over the last few years: the complete absence in young

children of any familiarity with the great Christmas song literature, maybe

the last repository of (natural voice) amateur singing left in this country

outside of the Church.

“The only tunes that got consistent recognition from my 5-to-9 year old

charges were ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Jingle Bells’.

“Occasional recognition, by churchgoing or very well-rounded kids: ‘O

Christmas Tree’, ‘Deck the Halls’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘We Wish You a Merry

Christmas’, ‘Joy to the World’, ‘12 Days of Christmas’. Little knowledge of

the words.

“Songs NONE of my 60 or so students recognized: ‘Hark the Herald Angels

Sing’, ‘Here We Come A-Wassailing’, ‘Angels We Have Heard on High’, ‘We

Three Kings of Orient Are’, ‘O Holy Night’, ‘Good King Wenceslas’, ‘It Came

Upon a Midnight Clear’, ‘Adeste Fideles’/’O Come All Ye Faithful’, ‘White

Christmas’, ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire’, ‘I’m Dreaming of a White

Christmas’.

“In the past, music teachers would sometimes even go to these songs in the

middle of the year, if in need of melodic examples, to make a point, since

they were so universal. As far as I can tell, this body of common knoweldge

has been obliterated.”

I have written on similar lines.

Now, of course, every generation deplores the coming generation’s music –

that is an invariant. In past times, however, there was always a common

stock of Christmas songs, hymns, vaudeville songs, and folk songs. Now all

that has been run down, and we have no more songs any more. What a sad,

spiritless culture we have.