"Thinking About Next Christmas"

This was from my Christmas-themed tape of November 1985, This Day Can Last All Year.

Thinking About Next Christmas

© Brian Hutzell 1984

I'm thinking about next Christmas

About spending Christmas Eve with you

I'm thinking about Christmas vacation

Time away from work

Time away from school

Time to be with you

It's not too early

To think about next Christmas

Never too early

To think about Christmas Eve

There's almost a year to go

But time goes fast, you know

And it seems to me my dear

Christmas is almost here

It's not too early

To think about next Christmas

Never too early

To think about Christmas Eve

There's almost a year to go

But time goes fast, you know

And it seems to me my dear

Christmas is almost here

Now it's January

Spring will come before you're ready

Summer's soon to follow

Seems just like tomorrow

Fall is not too far at all

And then it's winter time again

The snow that tells us Christmas time is coming

Santa's sleigh will soon be running

And then it's Christmas

It's Christmas

I'm thinking about next Christmas

And it isn't far away

It's not too early

To think about next Christmas

Never too early

To think about Christmas Eve

"The Coldest Day of the Winter"

I think I like this one now more than I did when I first wrote it. It was originally going to be included on my “Spring 88” cassette, but was cut from the final lineup. Like many of my early attempts at songwriting, these lyrics ha roots in my high school experiences.

Heidi was a girl I dated when I was a senior. We tried unsuccessfully to carry on the relationship after graduation, but she was in Iowa City and I was in first Chicago then Boston. In our case, distance did not make the heart grow fonder, just forgetful. Not long after I moved to Boston, Heidi met the love of her life at the University of Iowa. They are still married, and judging by what little I know of their present life, doing quite well.

The Coldest Day of the Winter

© Brian Hutzell 1987

I remember December the nights that we spent
Cuddled together and warm
It was during a blizzard that our lips first met
Safe inside from the storm
We were young and the fun of romance was in bloom
Following every cliché
And the smell of the fireplace mixed with your perfume
I recall to this day
Several years have passed by since then
We lost touch long ago
Someone said you were married now
You'll make him happy, I know

Maybe there's mistletoe hung from the ceiling
Maybe the Sunday school children are singing
There must be presents in under the Christmas tree
But here it's just gonna be
The coldest day of the winter

Only three Christmas Eves did we spend arm in arm
The happiest couple alive
And the dream, so it seemed, would go on and on
Love would always survive
With a romance begun with the one you first kiss
Comes a love that refuses to die
The problem is this:
They only exist for a very short time
I was in heaven then
Three years of ecstasy
I couldn't believe it when
You said you'd marry me

Maybe there's mistletoe hung from the ceiling
Maybe the Sunday school children are singing
There must be presents in under the Christmas tree
But here it's just gonna be
The coldest day of the winter

We remained on good terms even after the end
Parted with no bitterness
But I never felt lonely at Christmas till then
Like I've been ever since
I still think how it might have been
If our dreams had come true
Christmas Eve would be perfect if I could spend it with you

Maybe there's mistletoe hung from the ceiling
Maybe the Sunday school children are singing
There must be presents in under the Christmas tree
But here it's just gonna be
The coldest day of the winter

"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!