Joyful Jewish

My Chanukah song repertoire was limited, and in danger of being swamped by the Christmas carols my daughter was learning at school.  (Not the traditional religious ones, but a curious mix of Australian secular carols involving sleigh-pulling kangaroos, a koala masquerading as the fat bloke in the red suit, and one with the slightly baffling chorus of “We wish you a ripper Christmas, a full-bore ripper Christmas, a dead-set ripper Christmas and a snappy New Year.” )  The time had come to move beyond Maoz Tzur and How Many Candles.

So, I went on an interesting (and occasionally quite bizarre) tour of YouTube and a couple of music download sites (cdbaby.com and bandit.fm) and two nights later I am the proud owner of a rather eclectic collection of Chanukah songs which is proving to be a hit with the entire family.  It does range from the sublime to the ridiculous, including a few parodies, but some of these may appeal to you too, if you don’t know them already. And I may put together another CD this time next year so let me know if you have any suggestions for what to include in my next compilation.

Dreidel  Erran Baron Cohen  (from Songs in the Key of Hanukkah)
Hanukkah Blessings  Barenaked Ladies  (from Barenaked for the Holidays)
Pass the Candle  Michelle Citrin
Maoz Tzur  Achi Ben Shalom   (from Hanukkah Alive)
Candlelight  The Maccabeats
Hanerot Halalu  Mare Winningham (from Craig Taubman’s Lights! Celebrate Hanukkah Live in Concert)
Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah  Erran Baron Cohen (from Songs in the Key of Hanukkah)
Nun Gimmel Heh Shin  The LeeVees (from Hanukkah Rocks)
Be a Light  Neal Katz  (from Be a Light – Chanukah Songs for Grown-Ups)
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah Barenaked Ladies  (from Barenaked for the Holidays
Ocho Kandelikas Flory Jagoda (from Celebrat Hanukkah)
Spin It Up  Erran Baron Cohen (from Songs in the Key of Hanukkah)
Miracle  The Maccabeats

Light One Candle   Peter Paul & Mary
Hanukkah is Right Around the Bend  Poppa’s Kitchen (from A Rockin Hanukkah)
Latke Song  Jill Pakman  (from Chanukah Plugged In)
Mi Yimaleil  Neal Katz (from Be a Light – Chanukah Songs for Grown-Ups)
Sevivon  Achi Ben Shalom  (from Hanukkah Alive)
Eight Nights a Year  Sam Glaser  (from Sam Glaser’s Rockin’ Chanukah Revue)
Hanuka Gelt  The Klezmatics  (from Live at Town Hall)
The Eight Days of Hanukkah  The Belmonts
Latke Clan  The LeeVees (from Hanukkah Rocks)
Rocky Hora Chanukah Song  The What’s Up Band (from Only Hits So Far…)
I Have a Little Dreidel Barenaked Ladies (from Barenaked for the Holidays)
Ocho Kandelikas  Erran Baron Cohen  (from Songs in the Key of Hanukkah)
Get Your Chanukah On  The Velveteens  (from A Chanukah Feast)