Although admitting Christmas is merely weeks away pains me, I must confess I listened to Tracey Thorn's sublime "Tinsel and Lights" holiday album on the plane to Phoenix for Thanksgiving last week. It was then that I realized the title track -- so clever and touching -- was the Christmas song David Rakoff would have written had he been a musician. If you know me or David's work, then you know this is the highest of compliments. Listen for yourself:
"Tinsel and Lights" (Words and music by Tracey Thorn)
We walked down the street as the snow started falling
Stamping our feet all the taxi cabs crawling
You said "I’m so cold I can’t remember my name"
And I said the same
He took her photo and said he adored her
A New York martini, it literally floored her
And we played Miss America over again
And again and again
Oh, and that was a New York Christmas, baby
Oh, that was the way it should be done
Oh, we saw the sights,
Tinsel and lights
Looking down the barrel of a gun
Now years have gone by and we’re all so much older
The winters got warmer then last year's got colder
And we've all learned some things about how the time goes
That we'd rather not know
Oh, but that was a New York Christmas, baby
Snowflakes like diamonds in our hair
We watched them all
Sparkle and fall
Something almost true was in the air
Yeah that, was a New York Christmas, baby
That was the way it was back then
We saw the sights
Tinsel and lights
You kissed me in the snow and that was when
I fell in love with Christmas once again.