The Songs of Christmas – (15) Bonus Day Mix.
It’s Christmas time. It’s December. It is another one of my favorite times of the year. But, Christmas time, wow! I mean, among all of the other reasons to celebrate the Christmas holiday, there is also the music. The Christmas songs. So many of them in celebration of the reason for the season.
Last May (2021) my younger brother suffered and lost his battle against cancer. While I still struggle with our loss, while remaining a big brother to one of my brothers now in heaven, I think of him constantly. He and I were both big fans of Christmas and being with family during this time of the year.
For some months now, I have been thinking of writing more about music, about lyrics, and about the connections that music makes for us all in so many ways. This December I decided to do my 14 Songs of Christmas. My late brother’s favorite number was 14. A lot of folks knew my brother as #14. Since there are 12 days of Christmas, I figured I would come up with a different number for the songs of Christmas. 14 of them, or so.
And since my Christmas playlist on Spotify is fairly lengthy and random, I added a bonus day mix for this post. So, technically this would be day #15. I doubt there will be much of an order in the countdown either. #15 also honors a life-long friend, a person much Revered, a neighbor on a circle up the road. This is for you JC. Merry Christmas!
So, here we go. This first medley is for my Mom. She had a little something to do with my brother’s life, as well as mine. She is a December birthday and one of the greatest people I have ever known. She probably won’t like a lot of my songs, or at least the versions I share, but she will like this first one.
Growing up in our house there was a record player in the living room and that was my favorite room, by far, once the Christmas decorations were up. There were Christmas records playing often in the living room and I would listen to the songs as I played with toys on the floor (or with little green Army men in the tree branches).
Many times I just sat on the heater/radiator and gazed at the lights and reflections of the decorations on the Christmas tree, while I dreamed boy’s dreams. Or perhaps I stared through the front window into the night, looking past the electric candle, and searching the skies for any hints of snow. The next two songs take me right back to my perch there by the window, many years ago.
C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S – Jim Reeves (Spotify) (We listened to a lot of Jim Reeves)
C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S – Jim Reeves (YouTube)
Old Toy Trains – Roger Miller (Spotify)
Old Toy Trains – Roger Miller (YouTube)
Thank you for sticking with me on this one. Merry Christmas!