#10 Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (1963)
This one is so over-the-top that it's just right. The song goes on and on about how wonderful Christmas time is - it's almost sweet enough to make you sick... but not quite. I enjoy singing along to it. All the advertising that we are bombarded with throughout the (commercial) Christmas season is tacitly telling us what Andy here is saying plainly: this is a crazy, uber-happy time; so get happy. At times it almost seems like a spoof or parody of itself. Sometimes, though, it is fun to jump into the Christmas cheesiness with both feet. That's what I do when I sing this song.
#9 Brenda Lee, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (1958)
Ah, Brenda Lee. According to Wikipedia this was recorded when she was only fourteen! Good job girl! This song is a staple Christmas classic. Every time I hear it I get mental images of staff Christmas parties (strangely enough, staff Christmas parties from the early eighties?). It has that feel to it:
Rocking around the Christmas Tree
at the Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Ev'ry couple tries to stop
You will get a sentimental feeling When you hear voices singing "Let's be jolly; Deck the halls with boughs of holly"
Rocking around the Christmas Tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone's dancing merrily
In a new old fashioned way
Yes Brenda, I do get a sentimental feeling. I love that line there: "a new old fashioned way". It carries with it the sense of living tradition. Christmas traditions evolve and change - what is old fashioned now was once new. Anyway, keep your eyes open for that mistletoe (it shouldn't be hard to find since it's hung where you can see).
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