listen hear! spotlights a song we like and think you will too
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Allison Russell recently shared her beautiful cover of the holiday classic, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” The Montreal native released the track as a double single with versions in both English and French, and shared what the song has meant to her since childhood.
“I consider myself a hopeful agnostic, but Christmas has always loomed large in my world. As a child of an abusive, dysfunctional and deeply impoverished family – holidays were always harrowing and fraught. Christmas in particular set all the skeletons in our family’s closet to cavorting. The brightest light of my difficult childhood was my maternal Grandmother, Isobel Roger Robertson. Every year we would watch ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ together and neither of us could get through Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” without crying.”
“I’ve always felt that this song resonates on a deeper level and speaks to the feelings of grief, loss, melancholy, separation and isolation that many of us carry through the holidays. But it also speaks of hope… Early onset Alzheimer’s took my Grandma Isobel too soon but I find myself carrying on many of her traditions. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is now a favourite of my daughter’s. During the lockdown days of the pandemic I started teaching my daughter French. I decided to translate “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” as a challenge for myself and an encouragement for her to keep going with her studies. It’s a timeless melody and I hope I’ve done the poetry some justice. Here’s wishing you and yours love & health & peace & happiness through hard times and good. X.”
Hear both Allison’s English and French versions of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” below. Happy Holidays!
Catch the listen hear! Song of the Day each weekday morning at 11:10.
