Talk:White Christmas (song)

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Contents 1 Martha Mears 2 Atheist dislike 3 Timing 4 Lyrics 5 Trivia 6 boxer 7 Other recordings

[edit] Martha Mears

In the article it mentions Bing Crosby singing the song with Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn. While she was the actress, her singing was dubbed by Martha Mears, I've already altered the article to this end. However, it seems there is no article for Martha Mears, who actually dubbed a number of actresses in a number of popular movies, an article should be made for her.

[edit] Atheist dislike

"Also atheists also happen to dislike the song due to its relation to Christianity." Is this really neccessary? Could it not be said about anything Christmas related, Christmas is based in Christianity I do believe. I suggest this be removed, it just seems to not belong in such a reference as wikipedia. If we could find a verifiable quote, specifically about 'White Christmas', MAYBE it could remain. It is poorly written and reads like gossip.

Or we could add such disclaimers to all articles: "'The Star-Spangled Banner' is disliked by North Koreans due to its relation to the United States." Seems silly, but that is what the line in the article sounds like to me. --BarenakedKevin 20:57, 14 December 2006 (UTC).

Tagged it. There's no cite and it seems to have POV problems; it might also not be notable enough for inclusion. WindAndConfusion 14:07, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Timing

Was not this song written on an anniversary of his son's death? His son died on a Christmas day. Cema 01:42, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

The song may be about Christmas, but that's no guarantee that the song was written on Christmas Day. -- Ventura 20:41, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Lyrics

I just removed the lyrics from the article. Irving Berlin has not been dead long enough for the US copyright to have expired. The lyrics should not be restored until we can document permission from the copyright holders. -- Ventura 20:41, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

On November 26, user Jeff Fries removed the Trivia section with the fact "Irving Berlin was Jewish," stating that this information is already included in the Irving Berlin article. There are innumerable facts repeated between articles on Wikipedia, and this is in many cases appropriate. It is quite noteworthy that a Christmas song of such prominence was written by a Jew, and this is a fact which a reader should be able to glean from Wikipedia without navigating to the Irving Berlin Article. --Andy M. 02:00, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Then I recommend working that observation into the main article. As it is, it's a bluntly-worded tidbit tacked awkwardly onto the bottom. It looks and feels out of place. Unless you can fit the noteworthiness of a jewish person's writing a popular Christmas song organically into the rest of the piece, then someone else is just going to come along and remove it. --Jeff Fries 09:24, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

I incorporated the fact into the article and removed the "trivia" section. Berlin apparently struggled with writing a Christmas song, the first reason being that he didn't celebrate Christmas, the second (according to a book written on the song) that he lost his infant son in December. I thought it was worth noting at least that the first approach he tried was more of a parody--a Hollywood type who has everything but still dreams about snow. This Guardian newspaper article has more about the book and the story. Lindmere 16:26, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

Nice addition, thanks Lindmere. --Andy M. 01:17, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

By chance, I heard the full version recently at a choral recital. The first verse does give it a much more light-hearted feel, and it was interesting to hear it performed. As usual, though, Berlin's instincts were golden. Lindmere 22:23, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

Here's an odd piece of trivia. For some reason, and I don't know why, Irving Berlin refused to allow the lyrics of "White Christmas" to be published on lyric sheets included with LPs. No album released before his death that I have encountered includes the lyrics to "White Christmas," even if the lyrics to every other song is included (including those still under copyright). Sometimes they are simply omitted; other times, some sort of comment is included such as "You know the words" or some such (I'd have to dig into my LP collection for specific examples). The first time I can remember seeing the words to "White Christmas" included with the lyrics of an album were not until 1993, on Garth Brooks' Beyond the Season Cheemo 02:07, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] boxer

any truth to the story about berlin being inspired by the story of a blind filipino-american boxer named felix destrito(sp?)? he tried to sell his dog queenie to pay for his child's medicine... the proceeds of the song payed for the treatment, he didn't have to sell the dog...

No, not in regarding this song. He wrote this song because a movie he was working on (Holiday Inn required a song for every holiday. --Sicamous 15:57, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Other recordings

That (enormous) list needs to be put into some sort of order, preferably alphabetical or chronological. Any comments or protestations? 64.90.198.6 00:02, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Wasn't there a Guns N' Roses recording as well?