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The Holly and the IvyAnnie Lennox

Released: November 12, 2010

Songwriter: Traditional

Producer: Mike Stevens Annie Lennox

[Verse 1]
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown

[Chorus]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir

[Verse 2]
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flow'r
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our dear Saviour

[Chorus]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir

[Verse 3]
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good

[Chorus]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir


[Verse 4]
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn

[Chorus]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir

[Verse 5]
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as the gall
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all

[Chorus]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir

[Verse 6]
The holly and the ivy
When they are both full grown
Of all trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown

[Chorus]
O, the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing in the choir

Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox is an award-winning singer, songwriter and activist who has sold over 80 million records worldwide between her solo work and the duo Eurythmics. At seventeen, Lennox won a scholarship to London’s Royal Academy of Music to become a flutist, but dropped out after feeling that classical music was “far too competitive” and “didn’t fit my kind of personality”.

While working as a waitress at a health food restaurant in London, Lennox met Dave Stewart, with whom she formed the band Catch with singer-songwriter Peet Coombes. Catch released one single before adding two more members and changing their name to The Tourists. Under that name, the band scored five UK hits before Coombes' substance abuse broke the band apart.

Lennox and Stewart continued writing together – with Stewart moving from guitar to synthesizer and Lennox adopting an androgynous look – and formed Eurythmics. Within a few years, the duo was propelled into international stardom when “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”, a single from their second album, became a top ten hit in nine countries.

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