Johnny 99 sings that it can’t be Christmas and we know what he means. His opening lines set the tone: “It’s that time of year for Christmas cheer // And it’s got me feeling low.” Johnny 99’s voice is perfect for country-melancholy and his words, delivered with a bittersweet melody, are full of loss and sorrow. “It Can’t Be Christmas” features gorgeous acoustic guitar-work, his fingers dancing lightly around the strings, picking high notes and tuneful tension. Alongside Johnny 99, Matt Kelly supplies piano and beautiful notes of Dobro, sadness in musical form. The video, directed by Georgia Harmer and filmed by Blake Hannahson, shows Johnny 99 surrounded by Christmas joy and cheer while lost in his own thoughts and grief.
Johnny 99 says of the song: “This song was one of those magical moments you don’t have to work for, or coax out of the ether. It leapt from my imagination as soon as I awoke early one morning with the holidays right around the corner. The previous evening I had spoken with a friend who was grappling with the loss of his mother. We talked about his grief, how it weighed on him and took away the joy and comfort he normally felt during the holiday season. It’s really a song for anyone who has experienced loss around Christmas, and how that has changed what it means to them.”
This Christmas, when you’re looking for an alternative to the Christmas pop (or wassailing), give “It Can’t Be Christmas” a listen and reflect on what this time of year means for some. Johnny 99 is the country alter ego of City and Colour’s John Sponarski and this is his first single since his solo debut LP “Words Left Unsaid” in 2021. We can expect more singles and, hopefully, a second collection in 2025. In the meantime, when he’s not touring you can see him every Wednesday at Toronto’s Bell and Beacon, hosting ‘Johnny 99’s Hippie Honky Tonk’.
