We need a little Christmas

The lyrics of this song have always been uplifting.  And just the melody by itself – well it’s one of those tunes that gets stuck in my head and I find myself humming.  Last week, when I was thinking about what I was going to write about for Christmas – I was a little stuck.  Being such a sorrowful time here in Newtown, I looked for some sort of inspiration.  I pulled a book off my library wall titled  ‘A Family Christmas’; a collection of Christmas stories, letters, poems, and songs – some of them centuries old – compiled by Caroline Kennedy.  It turned out that I didn’t really need to look any further than the very first page.  It spoke to me – it was perfect.

I believe I first heard this song many moons ago from the original Broadway musical soundtrack, ‘Mame’ – as Angela Lansbury belted out this uplifting tune in the depths of her Christmastime blues.  I loved it then and I love it for right now.  Especially when I read just the lyrics as a stand alone poem. It gave me a good feeling.

The photos are a peek into a recent photo shoot here at Connecticut Country House – a tough one to get through last week – canceling, re-scheduling, slow motion Me (because my head and heart were just not into it).  A friend came by the next day as everything was still set up and sort of frozen in time – took one look at my slow motion efforts and became all choked up, saying that it’s just what she needed right now – a little Christmas filled with a touch of beauty, warmth, and quiet joy.  That moment I knew that all the hard fought effort I put into this ill-timed shoot was worth it.

 

Haul out the holly

Put up the tree before my spirit falls again

Fill up the stocking

I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now

 

For we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute

Candles in the window

Carols at the spinet

 

Yes, we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute

It hasn’t snowed a single flurry

But Santa, dear, we’re in a hurry

 

So climb down the chimney

Turn on the brightest string of lights I’ve ever seen

Slice up the fruitcake

It’s time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough

 

For I’ve grown a little leaner

Grown a little colder

Grown a little sadder

Grown a little older

 

And I need a little angel

Sitting on my shoulder

Need a little Christmas now

 

For we need a little music

Need a little laughter

Need a little singing

Ringing through the rafter

 

And we need a little snappy

“Happy ever after”

Need a little Christmas now.

 

Merry Christmas to you and yours. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb9OVjlEZho

Love, Nora