It’s the holiday season again. I have more than 200 holiday
songs in my iTunes and sometimes I suddenly burst into tears when one comes on.
I suppose after listening to many of these songs for nearly 70 years, it can be
normal.
Take, for example, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” It was
originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 – the Second World War era. While
generally considered as a letter written by a soldier to his family, the lyricist,
Kim Gannon, said it was written about anyone who couldn’t be home for Christmas.
In fact the song was banned by the BBC because of its potential do damage troop
morale. The last line, I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” was
considered quite depressing at the time.
But my interpretation of it differs strongly. The
song begins “I'm
dreaming' tonight of a place I love • Even more than I usually do
• And
although I know it’s a long road back, • This, I promise you …I’ll be home
for Christmas.”
The song describes an ideal holiday, with snow, mistletoe
and presents – all where the love light beams. And for me, that was the
Christmas of 1954; the last Christmas my family was together before my mother
walked out on us in a drunken stupor.
The place I loved was that day and that time and the road
back was impossibly long. My parents never divorced. I have no clue why. But
from my childhood I hoped that one day they would reunite. But my father died
in 1972 and finally I accepted, at the age of 24 while in the Army, that my
being home for that Christmas was only going to happen in my dreams.
Perhaps the saddest Christmas song ever also came out of
1943. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” It was originally part of the
score for “Meet Me In St. Louis,” a musical. Judy Garland, a tragic figure in
her own right, sang the song.
“Next year all our troubles will be out of sight,” was a
hope a frightened little boy could cling onto. And that frightened little boy
grew into a still-frightened big man. Perhaps I was looking for the “olden
days, happy golden days of yore. There have been way too few Christmases with
faithful friends gathering near to me, and I thank God for my friends Frank and
Gina who were there on those first Christmases after my wife of more than 30
years and I divorced. Even then, I have felt friends were few and far between.
I find myself blessed with more than 100 Facebook friends these days and while
most are simply acquaintances and classmates (some of whom I barely knew then
yet somehow am close to now), there are many I feel very close to.
Yet still this song nearly always turns me into a tear
machine. Both these songs are of hope. Yet in my soul I know that Christmas,
and Jesus Birth, is the real hope in my life. These days, my favorite carol is
“Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” This is a version sung by the Joy Strings, a
former Salvation Army Band, and is set to the melody of “House of the Rising
Sun.” I feel that every year we have the opportunity to make the community we
live in our personal Bethlehem. For in every heart there is a chance for a
spiritual rebirth.
The earliest Christmas song I remember is Gene Autry’s
“Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” that my parents gave me for my wind-up record
player. I was around three or four when I went to my cousin Luke’s Cub Scout
Christmas Party and the children sang “Silent Night, Holy Night.” To this day I
think it was one of the most wonderful performances ever. I was so filled with
peace.
I am not a big Elvis fan. Like others, I really liked him
when he burst upon the scene. But I became less passionate about his music. But
he put out a Christmas Album with the classic hymns: “It is not secret what God
can do” and “Peace in the Valley” that are filled with passion and hope.
Other songs bring back happy memories. “Do You Here What I
Hear” was always an enjoyable carol. But I remember it from my senior year of
high school when I joined the chorus in need of three more credits in order to
graduate. We sang it for our Christmas Concert and went caroling one night at
the town green. Yes, they were called “Christmas Concerts” in the1960s and are
now “Winter Concerts.” And battles still continue over religious music in
public schools, as administrators have to walk a fine line. It seems that
religious music is acceptable in a concert not exclusively dedicated to a
Christian or other religious holiday. And so, perhaps, “Away in a Manger” is
fine as long as it mixes with songs like “Winter Wonderland” and “A Christmas
Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).
It is interesting where religion fits into the public
schools. Sometime around 1995, I was substitute teaching a third grade class in
a local public school. I decided everyone should write something about
Christmas. I asked the children to give me words about Christmas and they were
very enthused about sharing words like Santa, presents, Christmas Trees,
decorations, writing cards, snow, etc. We were about 30 words in before one of
the children asked, “Doesn’t Christmas have something to do with Jesus?”
Walking a very fine line, I was allowed to say that Christians believe Jesus
Christ was called Christ because it means “Savior” and the mas in Christmas
meant birthday. The children then took the words that were on the board and had
to use at least five of them to write about Christmas. Alas, not one referred
to Jesus in their essays, which I suppose was good for me since it was a public
school after all.
Other songs lift up my spirits. I laugh at “Dominick The
Donkey,” “Grandma Got Run Over By
A Reindeer” and similar songs. There are those who may say that these songs are
disrespectful to God, but I think that no matter how much we are off target
regarding Jesus birth, God enjoys his children laughing about silly things. As
a young child, for example, I loved Spike Lee’s “All I Want For Christmas Is My
Two Front Teeth” and “I’m Gettin Nuttin For Christmas.” I always enjoyed the
sexual byplay of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and Ertha Kitt’s sensuous “Santa
Baby.” And I remember a version of “12 Days of Christmas” via Sesame Street
with Cookie Monster ending each verse with “And one delicious cookie.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibJKwCGkk8
And then there is the New Year. Long before Dick Clark’s “Rocking
New Year’s Eve, Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians ruled the roost in the
early days of television, coming from first the Roosevelt Hotel and then the
Waldorf Astoria. I found his last New Year’s Eve show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL60HdslvOk
Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne” came at a time, 1980,
when I was having problems in my marriage. I spent much time thinking about old
girlfriends and lovers. “We drank a toast to innocence…” seems to continue to
play on my mind. I find great comfort that my senior prom date and I have been
reunited. As I listen to this song, I wonder about so many different “might
have beens” and think how I found so many different ways to just walk away from
relationships. Many remember Harry Chapin’s Taxi. He wrote a sequel to it
called, “Sequel.” It was the story of Sue and he many years later as Sue is
flying high on life and Harry is acting on the stage. Harry ends with:
Yes, I guess it's a sequel to
our story
From my journey between
Heaven and Hell
With half the time thinking
of what might have been
And half thinkin' just as
well
I guess only time will tell
There are dozens more songs that, as happened many times, have overwhelmed with Christmas spirit. There are
some radio stations that dedicate their entire playlists to Holiday music. It’s
a nice break from sports, politics and oldies. Yet, driving in my car, I can still burst into tears. . .and also into joyous song!
So tell me, how does holiday music affect you?
