Well, it’s actually December, the first mince pie has been consumed, someone’s hunting for the remains of last year’s eggnog (good luck with that), and those same old decorations have been retrieved from their storage place and are literally being dusted off. Traditions. Isn’t that what the solstice-val season is all about? Old traditions, new better traditions, new worse traditions. The cosiest time of the year encourages the enshrining of these little repeated gestures. Welcome to Jingle Bells Friday…
It’s not just us though, as Dawes have enacted their own tradition, marking the Yuletide season with their second annual star-studded Dawes & Friends: Christmas In LA holiday event and cementing it in place with the release of their Christmas song ‘Christmas Tree In The Window’. Says Taylor Goldsmith: “‘Christmas Tree in the Window’ is a song about the spirit of Christmas making someone decide to be a better person. It’s been easy to get cynical about the holiday season as I’ve gotten older, but there are still moments when a song, a decoration, or a special moment can bring all the magic back. This song is obviously a ridiculous example of that feeling, but hopefully still an experience we can all relate to at its core.”
Adds Tiny Tim “God-Bless Us Every One.”
Richard Dawson, however, has a slightly more jaundiced view of traditions – some of them need to change as he remarks on his not so festive single ‘Boxing Day Sales‘. Not only that, but he rails against the easy traps of rampant consumerism listing a series of things that maybe are really not such essential purchases. In the song what really matters – the potential of an espresso machine or the reality of friends interacting, even if, like a tired tradition, the same ground is covered? We’re getting a bit deep here.
Richard Dawson says of the song: ““I wanted to make a pure pop song, almost like a total throwaway song – like a Christmas gift: A pair of novelty socks, some Lynx Africa, or a daft plastic puzzle you get on Christmas morning and then chuck in a drawer for the next 10 years. I wanted it to be the most throwaway and lightweight triviality of a thing.” It didn’t turn out quite that way as he found that “Even when there isn’t much room for a character to speak you still must go all the way with them”.
The next song was written by Peter Lewis, of Moby Grape, and it’s sung by his daughter Arwen. It’s a very traditional sounding folk song – embellished with a string section – that reflects on the tale behind Christmas day and also acknowledges the simple every day miracle of a new baby. It’s pretty. And it is taken from the Omad records seasonal compilation ‘Make A Joyful Noise‘ which features a range of folk, Americana and Power Pop seasonal songs.
Adam Chaffins has a somewhat different story on ‘Layaway Momma‘ which both acknowledges the difficulty of raising a child alone and celebrates the determination and “layaway Momma she’s doing all right” and adds in an almost accidental Christmas twist. As Adam Chaffins explains: “I’m not sure co-writer Eric Paslay and I knew we were actually writing a Christmas song when we started on ‘Layaway Momma – little by little, we unwrapped this tale of overcoming adversity while staying true to yourself – told through the story of a mother’s determination to ensure her little boy has a good Christmas. I think in the end, we wrote an anthem to the single parent who is not looking for pity but is working her way towards the American Dream.”
And finally, what is our own special tradition here at Jingle Bells Friday? Can’t recall? Really? Really? Need a hint? Well. Ok. We say: “I scream, you scream, we all scream for….festive yuletide winterval banjo.” Although we’re a bit worried about this particular tradition – that ol’ festive banjo is in mighty short supply this year. Well, there’s always the opportunity to start that new tradition, right? Anyway, this week our musical saviours were the Hackensaw Boys with their ‘The Child I Once Was‘ which ruefully regrets the passage of time and the withering of the magic of the season. Yes indeed, we send you out this week with a real downer, that picks up on death and being forgotten. Hackensaw Boys frontman and songwriter David Sickman explains that: “On December 31, 2020 I was ready for Christmas to be over. I was taking down the Christmas tree when my little daughter, who I believe was around 5 years old, asked me what I was doing. A melody came to my mind and I started joking with her singing the words that came to my mind in that moment. This melody, and the words, ended up being the opening line to what is now ‘The Child I Once Was.’”
