on the first day of christmas

I was blind but now I see For many many years, to me, Jesus was an icon. And a piece of jewellery around my neck. And a person I vaguely remember hearing about in boring scripture class. I had known him from a very young age. For many many years, this song was much like Jesus. It was dull, boring, instilling in me nothing but yawns. And like him, I knew this song from when I was very young. From memory we sang it in infants at this time of the year. But then at about 26 someone asked me one question that changed everything. She asked, “Who do you think Jesus is?” My instinct was aggressive. I thought, “Who does she think she is? Doesn’t she know who’s she talking to?” I quickly recalled those many many times I had been to church, done my cross, been a good little Grik boy. Yet my answer was, “I don’t know…” Now that was odd. I had known him since I was very little. But in that millisecond I realised I hadn’t known him at all. Her question echoed...

Get born Carols by Candlelight can be such a drag. The same old tunes. The same old performers. The same old, same old. What chance to get to this song added to the playlist? I’d hazard a guess no one will know it, but everyone will ask later, “What. Was. That. Song?” Some will wonder if it’s a long-forgotten carol. Some may think it’s a great carol mashup. Some will thank the Lord that a half decent song as good as the old ones has been finally written. Well, they’d be right on all three. Big Star’s song is a mashup of carols, written in the 70s. So, it’s kind of modern. Well, it’s more modern than every other carol. The song’s history can be traced to one of Big Star’s member's conversion to Christianity. However, this song wasn’t written by this member but by another. As such, the song is seen by many as about and for his fellow band mate. You see, he suffered from depression and addiction. The song is one friend comforting another, the j...