The Figgy Pudding Incident (2015)

If you enjoyed this piece of music, please consider donating to the Albert Kennedy Trust, who work with homeless LGBT young people.

A couple of days ago, my wife made me aware of the second and third verses of ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’, in which the singers demand ‘So bring us a figgy pudding and bring it out here.’ Followed by ‘We won’t go until we’ve got some, so bring it out here!’

This was my favorite carol when I was very young, as there seemed to be no constraints on how loudly we were allowed to shout/sing. With the lyrics in mind, it’s clear this is because it’s a song about mob rule and the medieval version of Christmas, where many social rules were temporarily suspended.

The sound is Karplus Strong and the melody is a slightly mis-typed version of We Wish you a Merry Christmas, looping, gradually increasing in length and then variations.

This track is part of a larger project, ’12 days of Crimbo’, which will raise funds for homeless and/or LGBT charities.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:11 — 4.4MB)