Back to ‘Outback Christmas’.
One of the best performed songs at the 2008 presentation of this musical was ‘The Ride to Bethlehem’. The band got it moving really well, good singing, & good visuals. The song is based on the poem Norm Habel wrote — scrub & heat, dingoes & bandicoots, pain & mirage.
I guess I wanted to soften it a bit, to make it more a song of promise & hope, which has always been, for me, so much what Christmas is about. The chorus especially picks up the words of the angel, telling Mary not to be scared. (Angels are often telling people not to be scared!)
1. As we rode down to Bethlehem along the country track,
The sweat was on our faces and the flies were on our back;
The heat was simmering round us upon the burning sand.
But Mary still remembered the day it all began.
“Don’t be scared, “the angel said, “Don’t be scared at all.
The one who is inside of you will never let you fall.”
2. As we rode down to Bethlehem they watched us as we passed:
The dingoes and the bandicoots, the pink and white galahs.
They watched us winding slowly beneath the scorching sun.
But Joseph still remembered the day it was begun.
3. As we rode down to Bethlehem, we wondered how we’d fare;
For Mary’s child was coming, and we were miles from anywhere.
Then came the sight we’d longed for, when the sun was in the west:
the little town of Bethlehem inviting us to rest.
Norman Habel & Robin Mann © 1981
Doug Petherick played harp in the original show & recordings, & it always helps to define the song.
‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ has always been a favourite so I was pleased to keep Norm’s last line pretty well intact:
‘a little town called Bethlehem inviting us to rest’.
