Saturday, July 04, 2015

"Christmas '89"

It’s dangerous to put a date in the title of a song, yet that’s what I did for this one. I only did it because the song was a commission intended for only one occasion: a Dowling High School choral concert in December 1989. The whole point of the song was to contrast the celebration of old with the latest and most current trends, yet how dated 1989 seems now as I read over the lyrics. DATs! Floppy discs! How quaint! There may be a VHS tape of the performance floating around somewhere, but I haven’t seen it in years. Decades.

It must have been around the time of writing “Christmas ‘89” that I began work on what was to become A Heart Calls Quietly. That began as just another concept cassette based loosely on Lewis Carroll’s Sylvie and Bruno and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded, before evolving into a full-length musical eventually produced onstage at the Ingersoll Dinner Theater. Even though the show turned out to be not very good, I sometimes feel like I peaked with it. I sure hope not. My mom was instrumental in getting me going on both “Christmas ‘89” and A Heart Calls Quietly. (I never liked the title A Heart Calls Quietly, and still prefer my working title, The Best Time For Magic.)

Christmas '89

© Brian Hutzell 1989

On Christmas 1889, when Santa came to town
His gifts were dolls with eyes so bright and trains that chugged around
The tinsel glittered in the light from candles on the tree
As stockings, by the fireside, were hung on Christmas Eve.


Now it's 1989; a thing or two has changed
Yet Santa Claus, on Christmas Night, still drives his magic sleigh
The bag he carries on his trip is much less of a strain
'Cause floppy disks and computer chips are lighter than those trains!

But a candle flame on Christmas Day still shines as bright as before
'Cause the fact remains
It's still the same and will be forevermore

It wasn't very long ago

Kids asked for an LP that they heard on the radio
But now it's MTV
And no one wants a record; it's CDs or DATs
And Christmas lists are printed up on IBM PCs!

But a candle flame on Christmas Day still shines as bright as before
'Cause the fact remains
It's still the same and will be forevermore

How can a Teddy Bear compete with a laser gun?
Unless he's prepared with vocal software
And can rap when he gets down to fun!

And the fireplace has been replaced; look what I have now
It's a microwave with a liquid display
And sushi's not cooked anyhow!

But a candle flame on Christmas Day still shines as bright as before
'Cause the fact remains
It's still the same and will be forevermore

Who knows what Christmas in the year 2089 will bring
But here's one guarantee: the same light will shine!



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