My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #2: Longing for Home


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I have to admit, when I was a kid, I didn’t care for this song at all – I think it’s only as we grow up and leave home that we are able to appreciate the bittersweet sentiment of this song.  It wasn’t until I was older that I learned the story of this song – and that has made it one of my favorites as an adult:

In 1943, this song joined “White Christmas” to become one of America’s most popular Christmas songs. The recording by Bing Crosby shot to the top ten of the record charts that year and became a holiday musical tradition in the United States. The idea of being home for Christmas originated in World War II when soldiers at first thought that the war would be quick and they would return by Christmas time. This inevitably did not happen, hence the line “if only in my dreams”.

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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #1: Anticipation

Back in 2011, I got an idea for something to do for the days leading up to Christmas – I LOVE Christmas music, both sacred and secular, so I thought it might be nice to post some of my favorites. People seemed to like it, so I’m just re-posting what I did last year (which is why you may see comments from last year).

The thing is, I have LOTS of favorites – too many for just one post – so I decided to do a musical version of an Advent calendar, and count down the days until that most joyous day which celebrates Christ’s birth. Whenever possible, I have included links where you can purchase your own copy of each day’s selections.

I hope you enjoy my selections – some days there may be just one song; other days, I may do both a “church” and a popular song (both “classics” and contemporary); some days I may post different versions of the same song.  I’m just winging it, so bear with me!

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The Angel Tree (a heartwarming Koch family Christmas tale)

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Every family has their own “family lore” – stories handed down from generation to generation.  These are generally told around the campfire, on the front porch, or around the dining room table.  The good ones are side-splittingly funny; the really great ones are the ones which manage to embarass one or more family members.

Every year, Paul or I will drag out this old chestnut – it never fails to leave friends and family rolling in the aisles:

When Rebecca was a baby, Paul would oftentimes get Sarah and Michelle ready for school in the mornings.  Since they were ages 9 and 10 at the time, this consisted of waking them up. telling them to get dressed/ready, and driving them 3 blocks to the school.

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Black Friday: “How Long Does It Take You People To Shop?!?!?!?”

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They’ve started already – the ads for Christmas come earlier and earlier each year. I’m old enough to remember when we actually got through Thanksgiving before we started seeing and/or hearing Christmas stuff. I may not always agree with Lewis Black’s political views, but when I heard this bit about Christmas years and years ago, I was laughing so hard that I was in tears.

STRONG warning for language – even stronger warning to go pee before you watch this:
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A Thanksgiving Classic

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From 1978, this classic clip from the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” never fails to leave me in stitches:

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
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Thanksgiving Music: “Come Ye Thankful People”

Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving

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Whenever I think of Thanksgiving, this is the song that comes to mind – and this is a beautiful arrangement sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:
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Tuesday Tunes: “Simple Gifts”

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There are plenty of videos with this beautiful song out there, but I absolutely LOVE the photography used in this one – it’s full of the people and things that make America such a great country:
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(“Simple Gifts” from “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland, performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by Leonard Bernstein, is available in CD and MP3 formats)
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“Of the People, By the People, For the People”

Gettysburg Memorial.

Today marks the 154th anniversary of a most solemn occasion:

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On Jonathan’s Birthday – “Autumn Leaves”

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Today would have been my friend Becky’s oldest son’s 35th birthday.  Jonathan left us much too soon (a car accident in 2001), but he left lots of great memories behind for those who loved him best.

One of the things that his family ran across while looking for things to include in his memorial service was a poem that he had written in one of his classes about a leaf falling to the ground.  It gave them great comfort, and ever since then whenever Autumn rolls around I like to think that Jonathan is surrounding everyone who knew and loved him with his presence.

Every time I hear this song, I think about Jonathan and his family:


(“Autumn Leaves” sung by Eva Cassidy is available in CD and MP3 formats)
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“A Republic, If You Can Keep It”

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The story goes that as Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall at the close of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 18, 1787, a woman asked him, “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”.

Mr. Franklin replied, “A republic, madam – if you can keep it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in looking over the events of the past few months, I would submit to you that Mr. Franklin’s Republic is still intact.

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