David J Bauman

Okay, the shopping is done, though I do need to get out for a bottle of bubbly tomorrow. Speaking of Bubbly, Michael Bublé (I know, Michael, I know how to pronounce it, but I just couldn’t stop myself. Bad puns are my life.) is the singer of this next favorite Christmas song.

Now, there have been several versions of this song, the classic being the original by blues singer Charles Brown who first recorded the song in 1960. The Eagles made a big splash with it in 1978, but it’s been covered by many others, including The Platters, James Brown, Harry Connick Junior, Willy Nelson, Bon Jovi and even Cee Lo Green. But for me, while The Eagles did a fine job, and James Brown will always be the first, Michael Bublé is the singer who brings out the Christmas spirit in me when he croons this Christmas tune.

Two weeks ago I brought a beautiful Balsam Fir into the house, set it up and began untangling strings of colored lights. As I wrapped them around the tree, it was Michael’s version of this song that got me bopping along, feeling warm and fuzzy, and remembering times like this, decorating to Christmas music with my mother, who would have found Bublé utterly adorable. I found myself smiling, and oddly tingling with goosebumps.

So why is it that a sad song sung in a happy way is what got me into the Chirstmas spirit first this year? Well, unlike Blue Christmas, or even James Brown’s original, Michael’s singing seems to be full of happiness in the nostalgia of the season, as though it is a fond homage to the original blues song, and the memories that singing it brings about. And when Michael sings it, I don’t know, I just feel certain that the love of his life is going to come right back through that door, carrying presents and a big wreath of holly and mistletoe just in time for Christmas Eve. Yeah, that’s it. More than just the kind of blues song that makes you feel happy to sing, it’s a delivery with just the right combination of both nostalgia and hope.

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