Jingle All the Way

There is not much to say that hasn't already been said about the 12 hour drive from the mountain home of my heart to South Florida.  Yesterday the northbound side of I 95 seemed bogged down for long stretches for no apparent reason.  Yesterday, the southbound side was the lucky one.  There's that 20 mile stretch where South Carolina meets the Savannah River to become Georgia--that stretch of I 95 is always congested on Thanksgiving week-end, for reasons I can't quite fathom.

Yesterday we decided to listen to Christmas music on the radio so we would have variety.  I brought some Christmas CDs, but there will be plenty of time to hear those throughout the season that is upon us.  Across four southern states, we found the stations dedicated to all Christmas music all season long, in between long stretches of commercials.

I can think of dozens of Christmas songs, and if we add hymns to the mix, dozens upon dozens.  Yesterday we heard the same 12 songs, over and over again, most of them sung in the exact same way.  And I am left with one pressing question:

If you're going to choose one song, why does everyone sing, "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

I understand why there are so many cover versions of that John Lennon song, "So This Is Christmas."  Well, I do and I don't.  It makes me wonder if there's a more radical Lennon Christmas song that we all forgot about.  "So This Is Christmas" is rather bland, and dare I say it?  It's a bit insipid.

Of course, any song played over and over becomes insipid.  By the end of our 12 hour drive yesterday, I was ready for some punk or metal variations of songs that Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra once made famous.  If I'm ever a famous musician, though, I think I'd stay away from anything that Crosby or Sinatra made famous.  No one will be able to hear my version with fresh ears.

We also heard interesting advertising.  There was a crime report from a small town along the way.  Someone has stolen "12 Cadillac convertors."  I had a vision of small cars being transformed into gas guzzlers.  Who wouldn't want that power?

And then there was the Christmas radio special coming up at 7 p.m. that was sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement, who would like to remind you that they have jobs that they need filled.

Of course, our car conversations turned to this essential question:  "You can only record one holiday song--what would you choose?"  I think I would choose "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."  It's in my range, and I like both the melancholy tone and the hopeful lyrics.

Speaking of good Advent hymns, let me go and get ready for church--first Sunday in Advent today!