A Modern Christmas Classic

In a recording studio, mix a Welsh brass orchestra that had been performing since 1884 with a community choir from Swansea. Have them record a contemporary protest song in a martial style. Add someone who, after a visit to the UK, takes a copy of that recording to his friend – a DJ on a Seattle radio station.

The result is a Seattle Christmas tradition for well over 20 years.

“Stop the Cavalry” was first recorded by its composer, Jona Lewie in 1980. While it was a big hit in the UK, it was not heard much in the rest of the world. In 1981 the song was recorded by the Gwalia Singers and the Cory Band. This recording seemed destined for world-wide obscurity.

In the mid 1980’s, a friend of Larry Nelson, the morning disk jockey at KOMO Seattle, brought back recordings of some songs he had heard on a trip to the UK. When Nelson listened to the songs, he was not very impressed until the Cory Band’s recording played. He started playing it on his program. While not intended to be a Christmas song originally, the line “Wish I was home for Christmas” made it one, and KOMO stared playing the song throughout its broadcast day, and it became the station’s most requested Christmas song by far. Other Seattle stations began playing the record as well. Today, it just is not a Christmas in Seattle without hearing the song.

My father was a soldier. He knew the horrors of war, and he could appreciate a good, heartfelt anti-war song. I managed to get a copy of the song and brought it to my father so he could hear it. He loved it.

This is one of those recordings that you will either love it or hate it. There is little middle ground. From the opening bells until the fading brass at the end, it is a haunting recording that is hard to forget. While most versions have the brass music, the Gwalia Singers make you feel as though you are listening to soldiers -- and that makes this recording the best.