It would be impossible to discuss great Christmas songs without mentioning Bing Crosby, whose Spotify artist listing shows his top 10 songs as Christmas songs (with all of them used in the tens of millions).
I still remember the Bing Crosby Christmas album my Aunt Betty gave me decades ago (see the cover below), which was the perfect Christmas song album. I have never heard a better one. Crosby had that rich baritone voice which was made for Christmas songs.
Crosby's most popular song is White Christmas, which is beautiful in both its music and lyrics. But it was important not just for its imagery, but also its impact on World War II, when it was first released (1942).
But White Christmas is almost generic next to I'll Be Home for Christmas, which was released a year later (1943). Both songs hit on the traditional Christmas imagery, but I'll Be Home for Christmas adds an additional emotional sucker punch for troops away from home.
The lyrics start off simply enough, with the traditional Christmas imagery in the setup:
I'll be home for ChristmasBut then the song takes you away, forcing you to realize where the singer really is:
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the lovelight gleams
I'll be home for ChristmasIn other words, that entire setup was only in the singer's imagination.
If only in my dreams
Can you imagine how powerful this was for both the soldiers in World War II, but also the people at home, imagining their loved ones off fighting a war?
I'll Be Home for Christmas has been covered by more singers than I can list, with several notable being Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Mathis. But Crosby's version remains the gold standard.
Because the emotional impact of this song is so much greater than most Christmas songs, this is why I consider this song my favorite Christmas song of all time.
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