The Washington Capitals released a second holiday video on Christmas featuring its players singing. After giving Caps fans a taste of the team’s crooning with Wow! That’s What I Call Music Vol. 2, the players sang the 12 Days Of Christmas, a holiday classic. It’s definitely… something!
The magic here is the off-pitch singing and the general lack of enthusiasm (minus Braden Holtby).
Video
🎵 The 12 Days of Capmas 🎵
You thought we were done singing?
Merry #Christmas #ALLCAPS Fans! pic.twitter.com/ogfCkLNyJM
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 25, 2018
This makes me recall something I was taught in my History of Rock class at UMBC. In the 1960s, American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios created The Wall of Sound, a technique made famous by the Beach Boys. According to Wikipedia, the intention was to exploit the possibilities of studio recording to create an unusually dense orchestral aesthetic that came across well. “I was looking for a sound, a sound so strong that if the material was not the greatest, the sound would carry the record,” Spector explained in 1964. “It was a case of augmenting, augmenting. It all fitted together like a jigsaw.”
The Capitals version of the 12 Days of Christmas is definitely a wall of sound when the players sing “in unison,” but its basically the opposite of what Spector hoped to achieve. It’s an echo chamber, where the players’ voices are not in harmony or their singing of words are aligned together. Instead, it creates anxiety-filled audio chaos, where it seems like an angry mob of Santa hat-wearing hockey players is yell-singing at you.
But if you ask me, that’s a part of the video’s charm!
Here are the fantastic lyrics.
Lyrics
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
The seventh day of June
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eight from the office
Seventh day of June
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Nine D-men dancing
Eight from the office
Seventh day of June
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Ten missing fist bumps
Nine D-men dancing
Eight from the office
Seventh day of June
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Eleven snipers sniping
Ten missing fist bumps
Nine D-men dancing
Eight from the office
Seventh day of June
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Twelve months of celebrating
Eleven snipers sniping
Ten missing fist bumps
Nine D-men dancing
Eight from the office
Seventh day of June
Six Swedes a-saucing
Five golden games
Four Game Five goals
Three Eastern wins
Two Prince of Wales
And a Cup made by Lord Stanley.
