Ring Out, Solstice Bells - 2003 Remaster

There are plenty of Christmas songs, including one by Jethro Tull, but few about the winter solstice, which takes place on the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere - either December 21st or 22nd. The song describes a solstice celebration in medieval times, with dancing druids and ringing bells. In a Songfacts interview with frontman Ian Anderson, he said it is one of just a few songs he wrote simply looking for a hit song. He told us: "I deliberately attempted to write, if not a pop song, at least a song that was catchy enough to be getting radio play and achieve something in the singles charts."

This is also a rare example of a tune that references mistletoe outside of a romantic context. Songs like "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You" refer to the well-known tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, a trend popularized by servants in Victorian England. But other rituals exist surrounding the plant, such as the ancient Celtic Ritual of Oak and Mistletoe. Anderson sings of the maids and lads congregating "beneath the mistletoe, by the holy oak whereon it grows." A druid priest would climb the tree, cut down the plant, and - after sacrificing two bulls - would create an elixir to cure infertility and defend against poisons. (Don't try this at home: The berries and other parts of the plant contain toxic compounds.)

The band's record label, Chrysalis, wanted to market the pagan carol as a Christmas song, so Anderson sent it to Mike Batt of The Wombles to add a dose of Yuletide cheer. The new arrangement fell flat with the band, so the label rolled out the original version in early December - too late to make any Top 10 holiday lists. "That was somewhat sad for me," Anderson told Louder's Classic Rock imprint. "It would have been rather nice to have had a Top 10 hit and been on the Christmas edition of Top Of The Pops. Also, though the band at that time was probably at its best, the seeds were being sown of musical discontent and personal differences between certain people. Within a year or two it began to feel to me as if that cohesiveness we had was getting lost. That was partly, I guess, because of the pressures and frequency of our touring. Things were quite stressful back then. It felt as if I was in charge of a juggernaut that could very easily run off the road."