First, full
disclosure: I love Kate Austin. If anyone other than Kate had asked me to
talk about Christmas music I would have donned my most grinchy of Grinch faces
and held forth about how I loathe Christmas music, particularly by the last
week of November when the assault has been going on since the Halloween
decorations came down. I’d go on about
how tired I am of seeing store clerks’ faces weary from exposure to endless
loops of Blue Christmas and I’ll Be Home For Christmas and Rockin’
Around the Christmas Tree. I’m
equally tired of desperate-looking shoppers, cheesy tinsel-and-bows decorating
every tree and lamp post, of newspapers and magazines and flyers all exhorting
us to buy buy buy. Each day finds me
with my scowl intact, my chin tucked deeper into my collar, counting the days
when I don’t have to worry about hearing another version of White Christmas
while I’m picking up milk and bread in the corner store.
But it was Kate
who asked me so I decided to make it an opportunity to re-examine my stock response
to Christmas music and sort through a few songs both secular and non- to see if
it’s really true.
To my surprise, I
found a few – quite a few in fact – that I really like and at the top of the
list is The Chipmunk Song, both for its enduring novelty and
frivolousness and its incredibly good harmonies. I like Alvin’s O KAY! in response to Dave’s scolding to pay attention and focus on
the song. A little attitude is
refreshing for me at this time of year, particularly from a singing
rodent. I was curious about the singers;
in the days that recording was made technology was more primitive and I
wondered how they did it. Who were “The
Chipmunks” and where they are now?
It turns out that The
Chipmunk Song was written and all parts sung by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. aka
David Seville. His is an interesting
story and includes the fact that his first cousin was William Saroyan with whom
he wrote C’mon-a My House made a hit by Rosemary Clooney. Every time I hear Alvin sing “I still want a
hula hoop” I am transported and a smile breaks out, I can’t help it. Gone the Grinch!
Next on my list is
Oh Holy Night – you can’t get much more non-secular than that – which,
regardless of who covers it (and it has been sung by the likes of Barbra
Streisand, Joan Baez, Sufjan Stevens, Mariah Carey …) never fails to raise the
hairs on the back of my neck as the voices swell to the chorus … “Fall on your
knees…” Just gorgeous. Unfortunately it’s seldom played loud enough
in the malls and stores, probably because it demands you stop and listen, which
means you’re not shopping hard enough.
There’s a bunch of Christmas songs I like because they’re a bit saucy or witty and make me wish
for a time when movies had snappier dialogue, or perhaps when my life had
snappier dialogue. At any rate, and in
no particular order: Santa Baby (who writes lyrics like “slip some sable
under the tree for me” anymore); I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, which
is just plain cute and innocent and perhaps a bit sly; and All I Want For
Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, the kind of secular Christmas song that
invites a family sing-along, especially if there are children who are near or
slightly past the age when they believe in Santa Claus, are losing baby teeth
but still want to join in the magic and wistfulness. Frosty the Snowman could almost be on
this list but it’s been overexposed. There
is a cartoon - a four panel - with a classic snowman, decked out in top hat,
scarf, carrot nose and coal eyes and mouth.
He’s singing “Zippity Doo Dah …” and slowly melting. By the time he reaches the line “…plenty of
sunshine…” he’s almost a pool of water with the aforementioned accoutrements
floating around him. It’s a bit dark but
makes me laugh all the same. And
“Zippity Doo Dah” does not qualify as a Christmas song though the visuals bring
to mind Frosty the Snowman.
One of my
favourite romantic Christmas songs is Baby It’s Cold Outside. It speaks of a time when restraint was the
order of the day (“I really can’t stay…”) right alongside desire and
persuasion. The song leaves us believing
the couple’s back-and-forth continues long into the night. It’s cozy and cinematic because it takes us
from their warm embrace to the storm outside and back again.
How about those
wonderful Christmas songs we learned as children? Good King Wences Last Looked Out, or We
Three Kings of Orrie and Tar?
I’ve noticed that
the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming to Town have changed slightly. There was always something a bit creepy and
stalkerish about a benevolent gift-giver like Santa turning into a guy who
“sees you when you’re sleeping …” Now
he merely “knows IF you’ve been sleeping”.
The Little Drummer
Boy is one Christmas song I can tolerate no matter where I hear it; it’s
touching, melodic, structurally sophisticated and appeals to children and
adults alike. Pah Ruppa Pup Pum.
Then there are the
songs I wish weren’t played in public places, not because they’re banal and
repetitive – they’re not - but because they’re overly sentimental and isn’t the
Christmas season fraught with expectations and sentimentality enough? So please spare me I’ll Be Home For
Christmas or Blue Christmas.
I just hate weeping in Toys “R” Us or Shoppers or … well, maybe Shoppers
is a good place to hear these songs – at least I’m close to the tissues!
Last, I’d like to
celebrate The Twelve Days of Christmas.
It’s fun to sing with people of any age or persuasion. We can all take turns singing the “five
golden rings” part. And for older folk -
that is anyone over 12 - it’s right up there with crosswords for exercising
that flabby cerebellum. The imagery is
beautiful and encourages painting, cutting and pasting, dancing, working with
clay, making cookies – in short, anything creative that is informed by the
lyrics.
So thanks,
Kate. I guess Christmas music, like any
music, has its favoured and not so loved tunes.
Now I can erase the scowl, lift my chin(s) and march through the season
like a good citizen, loving and loathing in equal measure. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good
night!
Hedda Armour
Hedda Armour
No comments:
Post a Comment