some time ago i came across a short film
that i eventually bought.
i shared it with my class last week.
it's my favourite christmas card!
it is a simple story of a snowman who comes to life.
it might sound familiar
but it has a
deeper beauty
than "frosty".
much deeper.
here's a brief clip from the film
accompanied by an exquisite piece of music
sung by the incomparable peter auty.
even the words are beautiful:
we're walking in the air
we're floating in the moonlit sky
the people far below are sleeping as we fly
we're holding very tight
i'm riding in the midnight blue
i'm finding I can fly so high above with you
far across the world
the villages go by like trees
the rivers and the hills
the forest and the streams
children gaze open mouth
taken by surprise
nobody down below believes their eyes
we're surfing in the air
we're swimming in the frozen sky
we're drifting over icy
mountains floating by
suddenly swooping low on an ocean deep
arousing of a mighty monster from its sleep
we're walking in the air
we're dancing in the midnight sky
and everyone who sees us greets us as we fly.
or if you prefer aled jones then this lovely rendering will transport you to magical places also!
31 comments:
I cried the first time I "read" this book. Wordless picture books were my favorite books to read with Chloe. Just the other night I happened to pull this book of the shelf and we kinda just looked at one another... :)
Oh Steven, thank you so much- I haven't seen this for a long time and had forgotten- we also had the book when my son was young. I always loved this soprano boy's trill of rrr's in this song. Lovely! Thanks.
Wow! Much more interesting and evocative than "Frosty." Thanks for sharing it. Where did you get it?
I know that dear song so well.
My daughter always gets that video out at the beginning of the Christmas season, and it never fails to put us in the mood.
Very best Xmas wishes to you, Steven!
It's one of my favorites, also, Steven. Beautifully animated with a haunting song - thanks for putting it up for us!
I hadn't seen the video before and didn't recognize the song from the lyrics.
But once the video started I realized I knew the song. One of the beautiful haunting pieces of music that come on the car radio, enchant you and then leave you frustrated because they are somewhere in the middle of a 10 song play list and you know you will never find out what it's called.
Thanks Steven and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
hello golden west, 'm so glad you enjoyed it. of course there's much more to the story as you know, but this for me is its most beautiful and magical part. have a peaceful day. steven
hello bee, it was interesting to me that when i shared it with my class they were unusually quiet despite its not being a gripping adventure!!! i love this film and i also love that it comes with another raymond briggs story "father christmas" which is lovely and slightly irreverent. have a lovely christmas bee. steven
hello dan, the first time i saw this was on television. i loved this song very much and when i found that it was available from the usual sources - amazon - i ordered it for my family and also for my class. it's not a tradition for me to view it but somehow it always ends up being shared at some time during the christmas season. have a lovely day dan. steven
hi linda sue - i'm really glad to reacquaint you with this beautiful song and especially with the boy soprano's trilling of his rrrr's which is also something i appreciate!! have a lovely day. steven
hello jenny stevning - i remember the first time i saw this film being emotionally stirred at several points. in this particular section of the film, i love the soaring above the english countryside, i love the boy snuggling in to the big snowman, and i love when they land and the sky is filled with flickering colours. have a peaceful day. steven
hello barry - i'm glad to help you solve one of those little mysteries that plague us as we hear a gorgeous piece of music and then wait, holding our breath for the announcer to give us its name and then - nothing! just a memory of a beautiful moment. i've linked the image on my blog side panel to amazon for anyone who wishes to buy this.
barry a peaceful christmas to you and linda. thankyou for the christmas wishes for my family. we are a much smaller group this year, which carries some sadness, but we are deeply grateful for the many blessings and good fortune we enjoy including and perhaps most especially, the privilege of each others company!!! steven
I think my kids all dreamed about this when they were small.
Best holiday wishes to you and to your family from me and Patty.
hey abe - it's so much like a little kid's dream. one of my dreams as a kid was to have a snow fort like the ones in the books . . . you know with turrets and crenellations and everything. i did help build some pretty amazing structures with tunnels and slides that joined interconnected forts. we'd carry buckets of water out to the forts to ice up the inside of the tunnels. good times. have a lovely christmas abe! steven
by far my favourite christmas movie. thanks for the clip!
Steven you have introduced me to so many fantastic works of art and music. I love this - both the music and the images. Wow.
Did I mention that Richard Skelton is now in heavy circulation on my playlists, because of you? THANK YOU!
hey dervish - i'm glad it was here for you to enjoy! dad
hi reya!!! you've reintroduced me to a world that i've known off and on throughout my adult life. it's hard to describe it simply and really it might not show up well in words. so i'm glad to repay you in kind. richard would probably be thrilled to know that he has two people listening to his music!!!! have a lovely snowbound dc day. steven
It has universal appeal Steven - I think everyone knows it and loves it. Have a wonderful, warm Christmas.
Ask most of us in UK (esp. Wales), and we will tell you that we associate The Snowman's song, 'Walking in the air...' with singer/radio & TV personality, Aled Jones, from the days when he was a treble and sang in the cathedral choir at Bangor near Anglesey.
hello weaver - i like that - "universal appeal". perhaps i could use that on my blog subheading!!!! have a lovely evening. steven
coastcard just for you i've added aled jones rendering at the end of my post!!! happy christmas. steven
A flavour of Christmas in North Wales!
Thank you, Steven, and I love the dog...
coastcard - as a young boy growing up in manchester and its suburbs, wales always held for me a sense of magic that is sustained to this day. our journeys through snowdonia and even to the south of wales carried something hard to define for me but which i equate as an adult with other worldliness! living in canada i haven't lost that same sense. i have my books of wales filled with photographs that often occupy me during my rememberings of that incredible country you call home! steven
Ah steven. We watch it every year, I cry every year. Just a beautiful book that made a marvellous short film.
Thank you for the introduction, Steven. I've seen this image many times and passed it by. I can assure you that won't happen again. Perhaps I need to give or DVD the book for my nieces and nephew (and take a peek first myself!) I love the song, and this is the first time I've heard it. How is that possible?
Thank you so much, this was new to me and I loved it. Merry
Christmas to you and yours.
hello titus, i make a point of seeing it every year also. it's something like "christmas carol" with alastair sim. a rite of passage. have a lovely day. steven
kathleen - i think that experiences come into your life when you're ready for them. any sooner and they just don't have a place!!! have a lovely day. steven
hello penny - what a happy day - to introduce people to something special and lovely!!!!! have a peaceful day. steven
Very nice & impressive posting. I liked it very much . Others will like it also. Good luck with your work. ;)
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