Days before Christmas, singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan and science fiction author John Scalzi have released a holiday gift with a free download of their new Christmas song entitled “Another Christmas (Until I Am There With You).” It is a special holiday song for this difficult year, offering hope and a reminder we need to keep looking ahead.
Scalzi explained that while dealing with an illness that was likely Covid-19, he found it difficult to work on his current novel. So, he decided to try something different in writing a Christmas song.
He continued, “I wrote words that reflected where I was in this winter season, missing family and friends and looking toward when we could all be together again. And when I was done I looked at what I wrote, and I thought ‘This kind of feels like a Matthew Ryan song.’ So I got in touch with Matthew. He took a jumble of words and made them beautiful. He didn’t have to, but he did, and I’m grateful.”
So, Scalzi concluded, “This is from both of us to all of you. It has love and hope in it. May it help you through the end of a long year, and into a better year for all.”
The song fits perfectly for this year (“I know this year is hard for you /
It feels like it’s meant to break us”), and you may find it bringing a tear or two. But it is also timeless, as we all have encountered our own individual bad years, longing for something in the past or the future.
Yet, this year, for our collective grief, “Another Christmas (Until I Am There With You)” is a wonderful holiday gift. “So have some faith it won’t be long / Until we’re once again together.”
“Another Christmas (Until I Am There With You)” is available for free download on Bandcamp until New Year’s Day 2021. I’ve already added it to my Christmas music collection, looking forward to hearing it years from now and thinking of how we made it through this year.
Happy holidays everyone.