Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded December 8 and 14, 2016. Mixed December 14, 2016.

 

 

Genesis: I wrote this song in early December of 2011. St. Paul, Minnesota was indeed brown—no snow. I had lost my father in March of that year and the family circle had contracted: parents gone and my sisters out of state. It was definitely a period of adjustment for me. Throw in the commercialization of Christmas and the song was written in about 30 minutes. I quickly recorded a vocal/guitar demo using one microphone and posted it on Facebook. Some listeners expressed concerns about my emotional state. I laughed them off, but in retrospect they were on the mark.

The family circle has since been enlarged with the presence of a granddaughter and grandson. And there is snow on the ground this year and subzero temperatures. The Christmas holiday is still a tricky emotional rollercoaster for many people and I have to admit that I still have my off days at that amusement park.

 Production: Bass Guitar, Acoustic Guitars, Resonator Guitar, Mandolin, and Drums.

 Lyrics

It Don’t Feel Much Like Christmas This Year

The trees are bare

The ground is brown

Ain’t no snow coming round

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

The neighborhood is brightly wrapped

With front yards full of plastic crap

But it don’t feel much like Christmas this year

 

BRIDGE:

The family circle has shrunken down

Not much left in this northern town

Silent nights in front of me

I just might torch this Christmas tree

 

Where’s the joy

The peace the hope

The world keeps playing rope-a-dope

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

BRIDGE

The baby savior

Has left his crib

To grab a Micky D’s McRib

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

Living in this ho ho hell

Waiting for the last noel

It don’t feel much like Christmas this year

Copyright 2016 Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved