Christmas songs: Pretty Paper

Pretty Paper was written by country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson in 1963. In October 1963, while walking in his farm in Ridgetop, Tennessee, Nelson was inspired to write the song after he remembered a man he often saw while he lived in Fort Worth, Texas.  The man had his legs amputated and moved Read More

Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad is described as a macaronic Christmas song, meaning the text uses a mixture of languages. The song was written in 1970 by José Feliciano, a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. José Feliciano, told Billboard magazine: “If I had left in Spanish only, then I knew the English stations might not play it, so Read More

Christmas songs: I’ll Be Home For Christmas

I’ll Be Home For Christmas was recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby.  The lyrics were written by Kim Gannon during World War II to honor the soldiers overseas who longed to be home at Christmastime.  Gannon said in one interview that he was thinking of anyone that could not be home for Christmas, but not Read More

Christmas songs: O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree is a Christmas song based on the German O Tannenbaum. The lyrics were written in 1824, by Leipzig organist, teacher, and composer Ernst Anschutz.  “Anschutz based his text on a 16th-century Silesian folk song by Melchior Franck, “Ach Tannenbaum”. Joachim August Zarnack (de) (1777–1827) in 1819 wrote a tragic love song inspired Read More

Christmas songs: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is another popular Christmas song. The song was written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. The song was recorded on Andy Williams first Christmas album, The Andy Williams Christmas Album.  However, the song was not released as the single that year, because Williams version of Read More