This is the latest of my carols written for the schoolchildren of Wandsworth Borough. The sneering and gloating Serpent harangues the congregation with his quasi 'sermon' as they welcome the advent of Christmas. He is ultimately opposed and despatched by a courageous child. The accompaniment to the Serpent's rant has a serpentine bass line and employs a tritonal mutation of the standard blues harmonic sequence. (The tritone has often been referred to as the devil's interval).