Let There be Peace on Earth - I guess this isn't an "official" Christmas song, but I heard it the other day, and I found the words speeding their way up from the deep trenches of my memory to explode on my consciousness with feelings and images of my childhood. This is the song I sang at my First Communion! I still knew all the words! It was a weird feeling, but good weird.
Do You Hear What I Hear - This is one of my all-time favorite songs, but the Perry Como version is the best. It's another song from my childhood that I remember when mom would put a stack of LP's on the turntable, and we'd just go through them over and over, all day long. There were several good songs in that stack, but this has always been my favorite. I haven't heard the Perry Como version yet...I'm still hoping. Hah! The song just started on WDOK! It's not Perry, though. :-(
Father Christmas - This song, done by The Kinks, came out when I was in high school. The only time I ever hear it is on the classic rock station, once or twice a year, at Christmas. This is THE defining Christmas song for me. It's one of two that I need to hear every year, to be put in the Christmas spirit. I just heard it, for the first time this year, yesterday. Junior had not heard it before, but laughed along as he listened to the lyrics unfold. Christmas was that "" close to not happening for me.... Oh, and the rules are, I have to hear it on the radio, by chance. I can't buy it, or download it, or copy it. It's that magical.
Happy Xmas (War is over) - I just read that this song came out in 1971 as a protest to the Vietnam war. I remember it most from my college years, with the slight change in lyrics to read "And so this is Christmas, and another new year, let's pray for a good one, with plenty of beer!" It gained a lot of air time after John Lennon's death in 1980. Junior and I sang this just yesterday, in the truck!
White Christmas - This is the other song that I need to hear each year, validating that we're actually in the Christmas season. Of course, no one can sing it like Bing, though many try.
2000 Miles - I've liked this song since it came out, but it really sunk into my brain when I was in the Navy. A good friend of mine, Devon Bunch, was putting together a package for his new wife at Christmas. We were on a six-month WestPac (1986-87) cruise, and he missed her just an incredible amount. He wanted some suggestions for a tape he was making for her, so I suggested Bargain, by The Who, but he couldn't see the romantic side of that one. Then I played this song off the Learning to Crawl tape, and he loved it. We went on to make a short video of him dancing side by side with two other friends to the song I Can't Help Myself, aka "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" by The Four Tops. Just imagine three white guys trying to dance like the Four Tops, snapping fingers, spinning around, fancy footwork in step, mostly....fortunately for all, I was the cameraman. Whenever I hear this song, I go back to that instant of my life, and, I swear, I can smell the sweet, oily steam of the catapults and the overpowering, acrid stench of jet exhaust.
Honorable Mentions: Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, by Bruce Springsteen. I Believe in Father Christmas, by Greg Lake, which has a beautiful melody, totally incongruent with the lyrics. Carol Of The Bells, preferably at night, while driving, looking at Christmas lights
Every Rose Has It's Thorn - This is a favorite Christmas song in a very convoluted way. It's not a Christmas song at all, obviously, but it reminds me of someone who, to this day and forever, holds a very special place in my heart. This was Rose's favorite song. She was a barmaid at a hole-in-the-wall joint we used to drink at, in Lemoore, Ca. when I was stationed there. On this date, in 1988, (My God, that's 20 years ago!!) on a last-minute whim, she invited me to a small Christmas party she was hosting for friends and family. I was a bit homesick, and felt depressed and lonely. She really had to talk me into going. I protested because I didn't know many people there; but she persevered and got me to climb in the truck with her and Bill. We had a few drinks, and some great food, then they started handing out presents. I sat quietly in the background, watching the gift-exchange that had been set up weeks before. Her children were there. Her friends from the bar, and from outside the bar were there. Rose would pick up a gift, read the name, pass it to that person, and we'd all cheer and applaud as they opened it. I felt awkward, and left out, but I participated in the cheering. Then, to my utter surprise, she called my name. I was dumbfounded. "How did you know that I was going to be here?", I asked. "Santa knows everything", she replied, with an air of what I can only describe as "duh". I unwrapped the paper to find this:
That was the single most gracious, generous, and unexpected gift ever bestowed upon me. To this day, I'm moved by her kindness and empathy. A Budweiser stein; still one of my most treasured gifts of all. That year, Rose demonstrated that the Christmas spirit is about sharing with friends and family, and even a stranger from a small town in Ohio.
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