Silver Bells on the Christmas Tree
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: Christmas #Song Lyric Photo Challenge

Welcome to the holiday version of the Sunday Stills Song Lyric Photo Challenge!

The idea of this challenge is to match images related to your favorite song lyrics. If this is unclear, it might be best to think of your favorite song(s) and highlight some lyrics with your new or existing photos that help tell the story.

Also, to avoid copyright infringements of published lyrics, only post a few lines rather than the entire song. If you write poetry or your own songs, you can certainly use your work for this theme!

To see how the challenge works, here are examples from Always Write and my example from this summer’s song lyric challenge post.

Celebrating the Holidays!

Now that we are celebrating the winter holidays, think of your favorite holiday music or poem. I am choosing the song Silver Bells.

“Silver Bells” is a popular Christmas song composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. It was sung in the generally known version by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the motion picture The Lemon Drop Kid, which was filmed in July and August 1950 and released in March 1951. Since then, artists like Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Judds, to name a few. Source

My favorite is Anne Murray’s version. I feel a real sense of nostalgia as I listen to the joyful lyrics that describe people preparing for Christmas.

Silver Bells

Winter streets of Coeur D'Alene
Snow falls in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style

Holiday Christmas Lights

In the air, there’s a feeling
Of Christmas.

Festive Porch lights

Children laughing, people passing
Meeting smile after smile…

Seeing the Lights
Japanese Exchange student and I enjoyed the Christmas lights in 2018

…And on every street corner, you’ll hear
Silver bells…

Christmas tree ornaments

It’s Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling
Hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas Day.

Strings of streetlights, even stoplights
Blink of bright red and green

Red and Green Holiday Decor

Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch

Hikers navigate a snow field in May
Hikers navigate a Sierra snow field in May
Japanese Students Exchange Program
Group Photo Japanese Students Exchange Program

This is Santa’s big scene…

Holiday Display Balboa Park, San Diego
Me and Aero at Balboa Park, San Diego
Space X satellite or Santa
SpaceX Satellite launch…could it be Santa?

Silver bells
Silver bells
It’s Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring
Soon it will be Christmas Day!

Silver Bells on the Christmas Tree
Silver Bells on the Christmas Tree

Silver Bells © 1950 Copyright Writers Ray Evans, Jay Livingston; Sung by Anne Murray 1987

A Wordless Celtic Carol

Lindsey Stirling in Concert
Lindsey Stirling in Concert

Even though there are no lyrics to this, who needs them when you watch this performance by Lindsey Stirling! So impressed was I with her electric violin, when the opportunity came to see her perform in concert in Sacramento during Thanksgiving weekend in 2018, we jumped on it, got great seats, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Below is the YouTube version from CMT Country Christmas.

‘Tis the Season

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.”

― Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express

Part of this wonderfully and sometimes chaotic season includes birthdays–mine! I turned the Big 6-2 on Saturday, Dec 4th. For many in the US, age 62 traditionally marks the first year one can receive social security benefits and/or retire from full-time employment. Both my 62-year-old hubby and I are waiting until at least 67 to draw on the benefits. Meanwhile, we still know how to play!

celebrating a birthday
60th Birthday Celebration in 2019

Don’t forget to make time for yourselves this holiday season, and “play” as Marsha suggests in this week’s Writers’ Quotes Wednesdays challenge. Listening to holiday music, walking outdoors, stopping to sip hot cocoa, or even playing with your children/grandchildren is good medicine for our holiday-weary (or covid-weary) souls!

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

George Bernard Shaw
Tree Lighting poster

Tonight, hubby and I are going to an old-fashioned Christmas Tree Lighting a few miles away in the main town of Nine Mile Falls.

Photo Challenges this Week

Each week I am inspired by my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I find it fun to incorporate these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes, when possible. As I attempt to connect my images to other challenges this week, I fell short. No flowers or leaves, unless my faux tree and the scene in Balboa Park qualify! In any case, please visit me fellow challangers and play along this week!

Alway’s Write Writers Quotes Wednesday: Toys or Play
Cee’s Flower of the Day
Dawn’s Festival of Leaves
Johnbo’s CellPic Sunday
Jude’s Life in Color: Kaleidoscope

Lens-Artists Challenge: Celebrate

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are the last week’s links from bloggers who shared their coziest photos.

Beach Walk Reflections

Cats and Trails and Garden Tales

Cath’s Camera

Easin’ Along Image shared in comments

Frost on the Moose Dung

Graham’s Island

Green Dreams

Hugh’s Views and News Image in Comments

Kamerapromenader

A Birthday Post for Me! Light Words

Loving Life

NEW Manny’s Adventures

Musin’ With Susan

Picture Retirement

Philosophy Through Photography

Retirement Reflections Image shared on Instagram

Robert’s Snap Spot

Stevie Turner

This is Another Story

Travel With Me

Une photo, un poème

Woolly Muses

Working on Exploring

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post. I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.

Sunday Stills weekly photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. I look forward to your favorite holiday songs highlighted with some of your new or favorite photos. Have a wonderful week!

treesignatureholidays

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93 comments

    • I’m so glad you could join us and I really loved your post with your spectacular images, Tina. I’m glad you enjoyed my version and it’s fun to see how others interpret the challenge! I always get a kick out of combining challenges and I’m glad you could, too! Have a wonderful week as you enjoy your traditions!

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  2. Ooh, Lindsey Stirling is something else, isn’t she? I have yet to see her live. She reminds me in many ways of Natalie MacMaster, whom I have seen live. The energy these ladies have, and the power in their music, is just incredible.

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    • Yes, Cathy, I love her talent and energy too! I get tears in my eyes with that performance because I’ve never seen a musician perform and dance a run around like she does while playing, plus the choreography of this song is amazing!

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  6. Beautiful photos of City sidewalks. Wonderful to celebrate with the Japanese Exchange student.
    So glad you got great seats for Lindsey Stirling’s performance. Thank you for the link, amazing!

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    • Thank you, Stevie! Age 62 is younger nowadays, and as we live longer, being retired for 30 years sounds daunting, LOL! Even though I retired from my full-time (stressful) job 7 years ago, I continued to teach part-time and have been substitute teaching her in 9 Mile school district, great part-time work for now.

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  10. So much to like about this post, Terri–the holiday spirit, the gorgeous happy faces &unmasked–yay!), the idea of music and poetry. I appreciate your warning about not posting too much of the poem, to respect copyrights. So many people forget that.

    Hugs to you during this wonderful season!

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  14. Terri,
    Happy birthday! I waited until 67 and am so glad I did–it makes a difference! This week, we attended the Holiday Festival of Lights in Charleston, SC, with our granddaughters. I imagined “Visions of Sugar Plums Dancing in Their Heads” as we drove through the “CandyLand” Display. You did a great job with this post! Stay warm up there! Joe

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  19. Terri, I had so much fun reading this post. Listening to Silver Bells, I sang along and was able to carry a turn for the first time in four months due to my lung and throat problems. What joy! Now I get to go back and listen to the next one. Playing the music now is not enough of a performance, is it? OMG, I can’t imagine how she can play and dance all over the screen. The little ones I posted are fabulous and I’m sure will be to the dancing and effortless playing by the time they are grown. You could try wind surfing and singing! I love the picture of you and Hans. Fabulous entertaining post. Thanks for all the hard work you put into each post and to all the connections you make each week. 🙂

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    • Thank you, dear Marsha! Your warn compliments mean so much. Glad you can sing along with the music, I would curl up and die if I couldn’t sing (did years of choir and worship teams at church). That Lindsey Stirling video is so beautiful. When I saw it on Country Christmas years ago, I had recorded it on my DVR. I was happy to see the youtube version. BTW, I have both sung and windsurfed or SUPed in the days. Mostly windsurfing I just scream LOL!

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  23. As always, thanks for your many positive thoughts. To me, one aspect of Christmas is that it is the season to celebrate goodness – and that spirit crosses many self-imposed boundaries we humans put up. Surprise – I can’t recall a beach walk that fits here, but I will leave you with one of my favorite songs of the season that also deliver images of deep space – which is something I adore! …. and to the images of deep space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEchnSEU6-E&t=221s

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  32. Happy Birthday, Terri. A lovely post for getting in the holiday spirit! I loved your lyrics and photos combination, and that performance by Lindsey Stirling…. well, that was amazing! Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful holiday season. ❤

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  33. Terri, now I am singing Silver Bells. I love Christmas and everything that comes with it. The photos you attached to the song brought it to life. It reminded me of when I lived near NYC . I think it was one of the most popular songs because you could feel it while in the city. Christmas Carlos certainly gift us with the most wonderful memories. Donna

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  39. Hi terri – this post was fun the way you led us to the reminder to play and make time for self and just enjoy the season -and not let the COVID stuff wear us down. So thanks for that
    Enjoyed seeing the community with the exchange students and felt the fun.

    also, I just posted a holiday link up post and mentioned that I did not like the song Silver Bells. Then coming here and reading your post changed my mind – well a little. Because you did such a great job with breaking down the lyrics and adding the photos. It really did help me see some beauty in that song.

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      • Hi Terri – thanks for being such a flexible hostess and allowing folks to join in with a variety of ways (so hospitable) – and there is still a few weeks left where Christmas music will keep playing and I plan to follow up with you even more about my opinion of Silver Bells. (For example, curious if I will leave it play – and curious to see if certain artists have an arrangement I like – keep you posted) and thanks for visiting my post – a little long for my normal kind of post – but who says we have to make short posts all the time. Nobody – it is all about what we want as bloggers – right?
        Okay – I look forward to your festive Bonbon post and see you soon

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  47. This is a great challenge, Terri. And you’ve given a great example of how to participate. I’m late this week, but it is strange that when I opened your post and started reading it, ‘Silver Bell’s was playing in the house. I’d chosen a festive album from Amazon Prime, and ‘Siver Bells’ started playing as I read the first sentence of your post.

    Your photos are all very festive. Are the tree decorations from one of your trees?

    Here’s my late entry for the carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter.’

    The photo was taken in 2017, on a bitterly cold day when we had a lot of snow.

    Belated Happy Birthday to you. The old-fashioned Christmas Tree Lighting event must have been a spectacular way to spend it.

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    • Well how cool Silver Bells popped on while you were reading–I love when that happens, Hugh! The decorations are mine this year, thank you! My former church choir used to perform “In the Bleak MidWinter” amazing song, and your picture recalls the scene perfectly …”frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone…” (I still remember, LOL). Poor cows! Thanks for the B-day wishes. Yes the tree lighting was quite fun and last night the fire department pulled Santa’s Sleigh down the main street. There was a lot of sirens and ruckus and Hans was losing his mind trying to figure out what was going on. Then he saw the sleigh, I’ve never lived in a small town like this–it feels like we went back to the 60s. Have a great week!

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