The story of A Child's Christmas in Wales

A Child’s Christmas in Wales was first recorded nearly 70 years ago but it remains so popular that extracts of the story will be read by actor Michael Sheen on his Christmas Day programme on BBC Radio Wales this year. 

It has also inspired television programmes, animations and songs, including one by John Cale, since it was first released as a record in 1952 and published as a book, a year after the poet’s death, in 1954. 

The latest take on the classic is a song of the same name sung by former Take That star Gary Barlow which features on his Christmas album The Dream of Christmas. 

That is a reworking of a 2013 original by Welsh singer-songwriter Al Lewis who had released it to coincide with the 100th centenary of the famed poet’s birth the following year. At the time it also became the first song with Welsh language lyrics featured on BBC Radio 2’s daytime playlist. 

The cover of Al Lewis' single featured an original illustration by Edward Ardizzone from an illustrated copy of the book

But why does Thomas’ romanticised image of a 1920s Christmas still resonate and inspire? 

Dylan’s familiar voice sets a scene of white Christmases - “it was always snowing at Christmas. December, in my memory, as white as Lapland,” - and homely, familiarity “and after dinner the uncles sat in front of the fire, buttons loosened” and simple toys “easy hobby games for little engineers”. 

“There is a 1950s nostalgia there for the early 20th century with Europe and America coming out of the war,” said Professor Daniel G Williams, of the English department at Swansea University in the poet’s hometown. 

First recorded, in New York in February 1952, the piece was almost cobbled together from earlier work Thomas had written, as he needed to fill the B side of an LP he had agreed to record of his poetry readings. 

He had been contacted by two college graduates, Barbara Cohen and best friend Marianne Roney, following a reading in New York who wished to record him. They had left a note simply with their initials assuming an approach from two women may not be taken seriously though Cohen, later told America’s NPR radio: “Little did we know he would have been extremely interested if he had known that we were young and unmarried." 

The pair hoped to launch a record label to showcase poetry and did succeed in securing Thomas but he wasn’t the best prepared. 

Dylan Thomas

The A side of the record featured five of Thomas’ popular poems and when he was asked what he wanted to put on the B side he said he would prefer a story. But he didn’t have a copy to hand and though he couldn’t remember the title of the work he wished to read referred to it as ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’ meaning an article of his, ‘A Child's Memories of a Christmas in Wales’, published in Harper’s Bazaar in 1950. 

That article had drawn on a 1945 recording Thomas had made for the BBC on memories of Christmas and his 1947 essay for the Picture Post. 

Faced with a recording deadline, the only known file copy was borrowed from the publisher and the rest was not just history but is credited at the catalyst for America’s $2 billion audio book industry. 

“It is the first thing he recorded in America and they had asked him to record for them and what became the Caedmon label which became the major label for recording poetry,” said Prof Williams. 

The professor thinks the prose itself is underappreciated. 

“It’s a richer and more complex story than people think and on closer reading contains a lot of Dylan Thomas’ central themes such as he is the first in his generation in his family not to speak Welsh when he talks of the ‘two-tongued sea’. 

“It also has dark, gothic elements such as the elderly, ghostly voice that sings Good King Wenceslas.” 

Professor Williams thinks the piece is likely to contain enough elements to be familiar with anyone who would have had a reasonably happy childhood.

Singer Al Lewis said he was struck by the similarities, and nostalgia, for the simple pleasure of childhood Christmas described by Thomas which inspired him to write his song, of the same name, with Arwel Lloyd Owen. 

Cardiff-based Lewis, who grew up in Pwllheli, said: “What I connected with was the similarity of a lot of our childhood experiences, we’d both grown up in sea side towns and how he describes Christmas, with seeing people going to chapel or church. 

“My Christmases we would always go round to Nain and Taid’s and there would be aunts and uncles and all gathered around the TV, which Dylan Thomas wouldn’t have had. 

“But it rang true to me of what I remembered of my Christmases even though there is almost 75 years difference between them. It made me realise the things you remember from childhood haven’t changed a lot over time really.” 

Lewis, who thinks the first Christmas he can remember is 1990 when he was around five or six, said as well as having more technologically advanced presents he struggles to imagine, as Thomas did, that it always snowed on Christmas, in either Swansea or Pwllheli. 

“I think I can remember one when we had snow.” 

The fire place at the Dylan Thomas House in Cwmdonkin Drive, Swansea

When Lewis recorded his 2013 song, which is inspired by Thomas’ prose and has its own lyrics, the video was filmed at Thomas’ childhood home in Cwmdonkin Drive and it immediately became a favourite of Gary Barlow. 

“He had heard it on Radio 2 and put out a tweet saying it was a great song and then last year he put it on a BBC Sounds Christmas playlist so obviously the song has stuck with him all these years.” 

This year however Lewis, who has released his own EP Moving On, Moving Past this month, learned that Barlow had taken his appreciation for the song even further by featuring his own cover version of it on his first Christmas album, The Dream of Christmas. 

Coincidently West End star John Owen-Jones, from Burry Port, has also released his own recording of the song this year. 

Gary Barlow had praised Al Lewis' song when it was first released and now included his own version on his Christmas album

“You wait years for someone to cover your songs and then you get two in a week,” joked Lewis who said he still hasn’t met Barlow who has also featured as a judge on the X Factor. 

“I didn’t have any idea he had recorded it until the day it came out and someone sent me a link and asked have you heard this? I was completely shocked but really chuffed to hear it and to think he had decided to put it on his Christmas album. It’s really exciting to have it played on radio stations across Europe."

The song features a bridge sung in Welsh, with Lewis an acclaimed singer-songwriter in both languages, and he was delighted that the Welsh language lyrics have been retained. 

However rather than attempt to sing in Cymraeg Barlow has called in Aled Jones to duet with him. 

“It’s nice to hear the Welsh language played on radio stations in different countries where, perhaps, they are not as aware of the Welsh language and fair play to him for keeping it in, and it’s nice to know that he brought in Aled Jones. And people who listen to Gary Barlow might not listen to much Welsh language music so I’m really chuffed about that.” 

That a hastily put together recording, recounting half remembered images of Christmases past, still has the power to invoke memories of childhood and nostalgia for simpler times, well that’s the magic of Christmas. 

• This article originally appeared on our sister site The National.