Added: 5 years ago
From: snidelywhiplash
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  • such an amazing voice

  • only xmas song i like

  • this was the best on that album

  • Haunting melody. Lyrics great. Wish this was hear on the radio during the CHRISTMAS season instead of the overload of pagan songs of Frosty, winterwonderland, etc. etc.

  • Sting rocks! I missed this song during the 90's & early 2000's until I found it again here. Merry Christmas!

  • I love looking at the angel babies...so sweet.

  • Best Christmas song and video ever.

  • Such a beautiful song, It always makes me cry.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Merry Christmas all! Beautiful song.

  • One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Never thought to look on here for it!

    Thanks so much for posting this!

  • “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor...”

    (Isaiah 9:6, NIV)

    <3

    +

  • Amen! Awesome song.

  • There is no need for the foulness, lets just enjoy the music...Happy Holidays People no matter how you celebrate it because pagan or not, we (or at least I do) celebrate for the birth of our Lord and Savior!

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  • I had no idea that "Very Special Christmas" was a benefit for Special Olympics. That's awesome! And thank you so much for including the lyrics! Definitely one of the best Christmas songs ever!

  • My favorite Christmas Song

  • Glooorrrria...cant get this out of my mind. this is the song that sets the season for me.

  • Always a fav Christmas song of mine. Sting is beyond wonderful on this!

  • Sting is so powerful with deep songs.

  • BEST XMAS SONG/VID!!...SO GOTHY (in the true sense)!

  • Short but very sweet!

  • One of my favorite Christmas songs. So very beautiful!

  • LOve love, so beautiful.

  • Take out that awful drum synth, and you'd really have something.

  • @redredshoes Hey, it was 1987.  Whaddya want?

  • I just heard this on classical 96.3 tonight...I just had to find it... very moving!

    .Stings voice is amazingly heavenly here...Wonderful!

  • I thought this was a "new" song by him, why with things like "Songs From The Labrynth"(sp)m etc.

    Looks as though I was wrong. . . .

  • I thought Christmas was a special time for peace. Oh, well,...silly old me.

  • I love the sound but can do without the helicopter in the background

  • Hail Mary, Most Highly Favored Lady !!!

  • My word don't say "don't belive in God", so please don't miss understandme. My words only say "you no need to any other to belive in God. Just belive in that you think God is saying to you, not in the peoples that says you have to do anything because 'God says...'. No body can say to any other one about what says or things God, because no body can talk in the name of God." That's all my words say. Slán go foill agus go n-éirí an t-ádh leat!

  • Catholics... Your religion was used for a group of people to manipulate their brothers. Why? To obtain any kind proffit. God is anywhere; with us, our friends, all the world... It doesn't matter about their names, finally the religion don't comes from God, but from the men. Don't make a war on the name of God, beacuse God never say yo "do the war". The humanself says "go to a crusade" and you finally decide if you really wanna go to kill your brothers. Religion is not any more a reason for a war

  • I was entranced by this quiet special song so many years ago. I taped the video off some special that was on TV. It is a true rarity and such a beautifully done video- it really holds up like an artistic and spiritual moment at the same time. Go 13th century songs! How amazing to think people enjoyed this over 800 years ago. It gives you goosebumps.

  • sting is 1000 times cooler than bono. This proves it.

  • Dear Athiests...I have spent 12 years in post graduate education as a scientist and I am a devout Catholic. I have felt the Holy Spirit (which was about as subtle as a punch in the head). Jesus IS, just as he was predicted countless times in the Old Testament.  Look into it, if you think yourselves so clever.... for once, you won't be let down.

  • @MrAbuliam the old testament is brutal and talks about a heartless and relentless god...please stop trying to shove your beliefs down our throats and lets not turn this comment section into an argument about religion...just enjoy the damn song and let me believe what i want

  • @robytzu97 the old testament talks about a holy God who is loving and forgiving but who can't be be with unholy people.

  • @robytzu97 Lol you just turned the comment section into an arguement about religon with your post. This is a comment section where people post what they like, and this is a song about the Archangel Gabriel of course there's going to be Christians on here posting. He was very nice about it and never "shoved" his beliefs down anyone's throat, merely spoke from his heart. You don't have to agree with it. Please be respectful to all beliefs and have a nice day. =)

  • @xloveXghoulx yes mother :))

  • @robytzu97 *pats head* good boy

  • @robytzu97 If you do not believe in Jesus Christ then please take down your CHRISTmas tree and return your presents...for this is a HOLYIDAY for CHRISTIANS. Don't cheapen it with your crap....it is not happy fucking holiday, not happy fucking chanunkah, it is CHRISTMAS, a MASS for Jesus Christ the Son of God....DOUCHEBAG!!!!!

  • @MrAbuliam oh so just because i don't believe in your deity i'm a senseless douchebag that doesn't deserve a holiday...judaism is older than christianity..you're a massive hypocrite and intolerant piece of shit...your book says to respect everyone else but what do i know ? i've only been a christian...all my life...you piece of shit...everyone has the right to be with their family and share some fucking presents...and i don't have a shitmas tree..that's for kids

  • @MrAbuliam Please research the origin of Christmas. Thank you.

  • @MrAbuliam Thanks for the vile and nastiness under such a beautiful song... Christmas began as a pagan holiday idgit... Educate yourself before you open your mouth or use the keyboard plz

  • @MrAbuliam Celts used Christmas trees before Christians.Yule had a pre-Christian meaning-O.E. geola "Christmas Day,Christmastide,"from O.N. jol,a heathen feast later taken over by Christianity & O.E. (Anglian) cognate giuli was the Anglo-Saxons' name for a 2 month midwinter season corresponding to Roman Dec & Jan.Trees or gifts celebrate the season in many religions.Get over yourself.The Sun god is born on Dec 21 & the son of Jehovah on the 25th (which is wrong as the actual date is unknown)

  • Best version by Sting. I think it is the strong virile voice which gives it such clout.

  • i'm an atheist and i love this song

  • @robytzu97 I agree. I'm not an atheist but i don't believe in christ, either. However, it's songs like this, still capturing what should be the part of Christmas people remember, that I can enjoy and respect.

  • @MonkeyBallistiX christmas is about spending time with your loved ones and sharing ( even if you have little to none) with them...not about buying expensive gifts and expecting something in return or about singing carols and going to church

  • love this song

  • Ask me about one of the Legacies of Larry King Show....and I would tell you ito\'s this song. That's where I first heard this song rendered by Sting at Xmas 2009! Thanks Larry, Thanks Sting...for bringing me this far with this song...and I am still hanging on to it! Will never let go!

    MichaelO

  • I love playing this at Christmas time....its beautiful.

  • Gloria in excelsis deo

  • love it

  • Elmegy

  • Lol at the kid who doesn't know what it's about... Epic song this is my favourite Christmas song I sing it every year in choir!

  • The only song that's Christmas-y that I can listen to at ANY time of the year.

  • Beautiful song.

  • Very powerful. Sting never goes traditional. Love it.

  • I sooo love this song :)

  • this is a beautiful song I love it : )

  • i remember on MTV europe in early 90ties, this was frequent video in xmas time, i wouldn't know today that it exists - it's not on tv and radio unfortunately

  • @rnk1977 that would be because MTV doesnt play music anymore. =(

  • @toksik34

    How about MTV2?

  • My name is gabriel :) plz thumbs me down

  • It's really more about the Annunciation, but seems to have morphed into a Christmas song

  • This was a b-side on a sting single...i have always loved this version....but no!!!! she is NOT a most HIGHLY FLAVOURED LADY.....normal tasting apparently! lolol

  • nice christmas song

  • AMAZING. very haunting.. but catchy and musically wonderfull

  • best song ever!!!!!! i didnt think that sing could sing like that!!!!!!

  • Haunting and utterly beautiful ^_^

  • Yes, this video almost borders on questionable. But his rendition is SO much prettier than any other we've heard!

  • i love this song, its so haunting and beautiful. reminds me of when i was a kid in catholic school at midnight mass - used to be in this huge gothic church, gorgeous stained glass windows -

  • I just love how the light reveals his face for the first time @ 1:49 way cool

  • @Zacman123 I like how the hands of the angel gently touch his head before the illumination begins.

  • good version right tempo and sings the words as written

  • I never knew this song even had a video. I've loved it since 1987, when I first heard it.

  • @ChristineES44 Same here Christine! We were Christmas shopping in a store in Vegas [off the strip of course] and it came over the speakers... HAD to have it, but it wasn't available at the time. :(

  • Awesome!

  • Thank you for uploading this!! I can't find this version of the song ANYWHERE...just the slower one, without the drums....so beautiful!

  • loved this! havent heard it it a while :)

  • don't love.

  • This music is incredible. Stings is a real talent!

  • That's awesome music. Sting is a great talent.

  • Im singing this to try and get the solo part for my schools chior perfomance

    Really beautiful song ^-^

  • 13th century!!!

  • 6 unlike... dont understand! that is a great song!

  • wonderful.

  • This is probably my favorite Christmas song cover done by a rock band.

    those brilliant cannons never get old

  • The angel of the Lord Declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit....

    My favorite prayer.

    Gorgeous tribute to the Mother of God.

    Good job Sting.

  • the angel gabriel from heaven came...

    his wings as drift as snow, his eyes.. as flame

    name in the father.

    and in the son.

    and in the holy spirit.

    thankyou gabriel,

    hope i do the rest before..

    ~peace

    thomas :)

  • amen i say amen

  • It's the first time I listen to this song .. its really Wonderfuuuul !!

  • Holy freaking Moly=I never even knew this promo exisited and this version of Gabriel's Message has been one of my fave Sting tracks since the dawn of time.

    THANK YOU for posting :D

  • sorry for my english i'm french but as you it is the first tracks i have !! russians and this single was the B face of !! the "vinyl" is used how many i''ve learn it !!!

  • Yes me too- loved it as the vinyl B side of "Russians" and love "Russians " too.

    Both remind me so much of being at school at the time and Christmas.

    In fact playing the vinyl version is one of my Christmas tradtions to this day.

    Sting was-is -and will always be amazing to me :D

  • this video still kinda creeps me out... spooky... the original version is pretty sinister, much more than the way he does it now on "if on a winter's night"...

  • Are you serious? You can't be - you must be trolling, right?

  • dude im serious. i mean i get the lyrics and all but what do they symbolize?

    its common that sometimes lyrics can mean alot of things. for instance, a song called "godzilla" by blue oyster cult is a song that talks entirely about godzilla but all it is meaning is about getting high

  • Not in this case. If you read the info panel on the right, it's a mediaeval carol about the Archangel Gabriel informing Mary that she's pregnant with the Messiah. It's very literal.

  • ohhhh okay. sometimes its hard to tell when lyrics are literal. well thats cool. sounds like something sting would sing sometime or another

  • @snidelywhiplash Yes. Back in the days when this song was written, literacy was only for the rich. If you wanted to pass on news and social ttraditions, you had to do it orally. And since stuff like - oh...FLOORS were also for only the rich, the only place you could get together under one roof was the church.

    Henceforth, songs like this weren't meant to be "interpreted." They were Sunday school for the pre-Reanaissance common man.

  • @uberm0nster1 Godzilla not about getting high, it's about King Kong

  • @LocoRico89 clearly you dont listen to enough of their music

  • @uberm0nster1 Sarcasm goes a long way

  • @LocoRico89 only if you make it noticeable

  • @uberm0nster1 u christian??? if not the no wonder... :P

  • @TheDemonwolf14 that had nothing to do with my argument to why i was asking what this song is about. can you read into conversations? if not then no wonder...

  • @uberm0nster1 hehe i was jk good lord no one ever take me for joking o well sorry... :(

  • @TheDemonwolf14 ahhh sorry man, im a little uneasy.  people these days, yknow? no hard feelings!

  • @uberm0nster1 sok btw im a girl but i can go for dude not man lol

  • @TheDemonwolf14 ahhhh im on a bad streak :| sorry! hahaha

  • @uberm0nster1 lol sok

  • @uberm0nster1 -- Oh my God. Can the history of Western Civilization fit into the remaining 400 characters? Seriously, people should be outraged that an adult can ask that question. Failure of family, culture, schools.

  • @jlbinindiana i love how people like you bitch and moan about someone asking about a SONG. for god's sakes, get a life

  • @uberm0nster1 , You have a point. A bit of an overreaction on my part.

  • @jlbinindiana water under the bridge, my friend. lets agree to disagree and just enjoy good music, eh? 

  • @uberm0nster1 i like it  yaaaaay i love this song you?

  • @TheDemonwolf14 dude this song is freaking awesome, much like just about all rock

  • @uberm0nster1 i"ve always like his songs he was the first singer i heard when i listen to music :D

  • @TheDemonwolf14 well you, ma'am, are officially cool in my book :DD

  • @uberm0nster1 yaaay :D

  • Muzike thjesht e mrekullueshme!

  • I really like this version of the song. Sting's is unusual among the many versions out there in that he keeps it minor key all the way through, instead of bringing up a major-key chorus tone at "all hail said he" and the repeat of those bars throughout the song. The electronic drums make the overall effect strange and haunting. Sting's voice also sounds really pure and strong, not like on his new version of the song, in which he sounds husky and...smug. Weird video though, like most of his.

  • @littlescratchykitty , I agree with every aspect of what you've said!

  • @littlescratchykitty It seems like here he's channeling the position of Gabriel as the angel of birth and death. He, being Gabriel, stands in shadow as the dancing souls of the children he will send out to be born play in safety under his watch. Then, towards the end, he is given an order from a messenger, looks up into the light and gives us the eerie stare. It's very appropriate to both carol and the angel-- I agree about the redo. Far too proud.

  • @littlescratchykitty Also, with the percussion-- I think it's supposed to give the feeling of both dirge or execution march (the heavier, slow tempo) as well as the frantic beat of a newborn's heart (the higher, more electronic sound). Again, I think he's really trying hard to make the song 'sound' like Gabriel in the original. The latter version just doesn't have this depth.

  • @littlescratchykitty Also, after his message is received we hear a clock start ticking -- which could either be the countdown to the birth of Emmanuel or the countdown to the Apocalypse, where Gabriel will sound his trumpet. Both fit the carol, the time in which it was sung and the album it was available as the "B" side to. Every time I listen to this I am convinced of the mastery Sting used to compose it-- and his other version continues to pale in comparison.

  • @littlescratchykitty I agree entirely, with every word you said. I used to dislike this video, but I think I just had to grow older to appreciate its simplicity.

    I think it must have been a very cheap video in terms of costs, but it is really beautiful, much more beautiful than lots of expensive videos...

  • @littlescratchykitty

    I totally agree! I completely fell in love with the whole "Very Special Xmas" 1987 CD, ALLOT of my favorites are on it. And when Sting did his fantastic "Winter" CD, one of my critiques is "Gabriel". I feel the 1987 version is WAY WAY WAY better. The mood, the haunting vocals,and the pure emotion in his voice makes the track amazing. The 2009 version, is well bland and  lacking in comparison, IMO

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  • They played a lot of this on MTV back when they PLAYED music, at least around Christmas. Funny, this is actually an Annunciation carol, not Christmas at all. I love it, love all these Renaissance carols. Was pleasantly surprised at Sting's taste.

  • ober geil

  • ŚWIĘTA WOJNA....

    gwardia muzycznych kochanych aniołów...

    dziękuję.....:-))))

  • Round 1:55 he looks like Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange. "Happy 'olidays, my droogies. I bid you peace and a bit of the old ultraviolent."

    Happy holidays, everyone.

  • That is HILARIOUS and you are so right! LMAO

  • merry christmas from japan.

  • Heavenly ...soulful...and pure....

  • to jest piękne:) It' s beautiful !!

    Polland loves this song;)

  • I've got goosebumps, literally!

  • One of those songs that just sends chills down your spine...

  • wonderful

  • Beautiful!

  • Great video

    Have a very special Christmas

    Thanksu

    Cheers

  • Love this song! Love your username too!! I remember Snidely. Thanks for the post.

  • This is the best version of this song, although North Country Chorus did a great job of in tonight. I had to look up the song because the people I was with didn't know Sting had a version. I always loved the drums in it too...best on the album. I remember when Keith designed the cover.

  • Sting's version of Gabriels Message is great. But I always heard it as an instrumental only version. How many singers did covers for gabriels message.

  • please see my original music on video "This Christmas Eve" at meyersonfire channel. jjmeyers, composer

  • great song for christmas, i though of sting when i heard it in church

  • The first "A Very Special Christmas" is so classic. I love this song. I'm glad it's here. I hope everyone has a Very Special Christmas.

  • Oh and my names Gloria and my birthday is 2 days after Jesus' celebrated day of birth. X)

  • how is that bad u got all those thumbs down

  • @Fudgebegood idk why, well I guess cuz saying pedo, but whatever, if it was Michael Jackson bet they wouldn't of. figures >.> That's m story & I'm sticking to it. lol

  • I always loved this song. I think the beat of the drums are perfect. someone said gabriel was feminine, i think he was. im gonna do some reseach.

  • In the Bible, the angels have no human sexual features, they just 'appear' in human form. Jesus referred to them as 'being neither male nor female, and they do not marry", so Male or Female as we know it do not apply to them.

  • If I may: Jesus was referring to us as humans and to the elevation to heavenly beings. As it relates to the gender of angels, in Genesis there is an account of the angels finding women attractive and having offspring with them known as Nephilim, but i encourage you to check it out for yourself

  • That verse in Genesis has puzzled better scholars than myself down through the ages, and is very cryptic. The fact remains that Jesus said we will "be like the angels" in that we will be non-gendered, as I read it, so that He was saying, in effect, that angels are non-gender specific. Who knows? The debate will go on forever, I guess.

  • One Sting's best Christmas songs ever. Thanks for posting it!

  • I love this and I remember it when it came out I think I taped it. It's kind of creepy in a way.

  • Yeah I like it, but it also look pedo in a way, tho I realize it's not.

  • I was pleasantly surprised to find this in the Episcopal hymnal, #265! SO if anyone wants their choir to sing it, bring it to the attention of the choir director. :-)

    Merry Christmas!

  • you spelt emmanuel wrong

  • Not really. Either spelling is considered acceptable. Thanks for watching, though!

  • one of my fav Christmas songs from "a very special Christmas" Thank you!

  • sorry i forgot  it had more than 1 spelling

  • @thechokervip you spelled spelled wrong

    and no spelling of Emmanuel is correct unless its capitalized

  • @thechokervip

    You spelled spelt wrong! LOL "Spelt" means something completely different. Do your school work before you play on YouTube.

  • @PamandJim1000 This is rather unfriendly. A lot of people put commends on YouTube, for whom Engelish isn't their native language (like myself). It's alright to judge our mistakes, but in that case I do hope you won't make any mistakes in our languages either.

  • @Yrrats I understand what you are intending........FUCK the critics........:)!

  • @Yrrats , hi there, yours was one of the most respectful and thoughtful comments on youtube :) Keep up the good style of discussion! Btw, I enjoy leaving comments in other languages, and it would never occur to me to judge anyone on their mastery of the language... (Though sloppiness is another thing :) )

  • @onefleetingsmile Like 'Engelish';-) Thank you.

  • @Yrrats i didn't read the other posts, but i will count myself as a lazy english-only reader, as i didn't even catch that

  • @PamandJim1000 'Spelt' is the correct spelling of the past and past participle of 'spell' in British English. Maybe YOU should do your school work before you start playing on YouTube?!

  • Ahoy trivia fans-this was the b-side to the 1985 7inch single Russians. Superb version , I have the single in question, if anyone wants it I'll swap it for a plump turkey

  • I just got the shivers after watching this.

    Beautiful.

  • Nothing. I repeat nothing can beat this version of this song.Absolutely outstanding in any way.