Other people’s songs: I’ll be home for Christmas

 

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood

An index to this whole series of articles looking at recordings by Bob Dylan of songs written by others, can be found at the end of the article.

Aaron: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song.

Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longed to be home at Christmas time it has gone on to become a Christmas standard. The song ends on a melancholy note, with the soldier saying, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams”.

This is Bing Crosby’s version….

Tony:  This is one of the songs that people like me who are ,interested in copyright issues know about as the original lyrics were written a long way before the song’s initial popularity.  Those lyrics were composed by Buck Ram who also wrote The Great Pretender, Only You, and Twilight Time, and The Magic Touch – so not a one-hit-wonder!

Buck Ram wrote the lyrics in 1922, apparently as a poem for his mother.   The original version of the song by Bing Crosby however didn’t credit Buck Ram and instead had Walter Kent and Kim Gannon as the composers.

Inevitably a legal case followed which Buck Ram won and he was added to the credits and so (presumably) he got the royalties due to him.   It shows once more what a pesky business songwriting can be.  Imagine a poem written for your mum turning up on a number one hit, and you not getting any credit (or cash).

As for the song, it’s all a bit too schmaltzy for me, but obviously was loved by many others.

Judy Collins recorded it in 1994.

Tony: This version is utterly suited to Judy Collins’ perfect voice and the unaccompanied approach is ideal.   Could anyone listen to this and think they could take it further?

Aaron: Bob’s version comes from the 2009 album Christmas in the Heart

Tony:  Bob gives us double plus gruff on this version.   Personally, it doesn’t do anything for me, but then I don’t think anything could improve on Judy Collin’s version.

But I’m having some new thoughts about Christmas, as this is the first Christmas in many years that I am not spending the holiday at home – I’m in fact with the part of my family that lives in Australia, which is getting on for as far away from my home in England as it is possible to get (it takes about 24 hours by plane – I did it via Hong Kong).

So I’m listening to this when I most certainly won’t be home for Christmas, but then I never am, as I always go and see one of my daughters for the holiday.

And given that fact I ought to find something special in the song, given that it is almost Christmas as I write this, and I am on the other side of the world, so won’t be home for Christmas, although I will be back for the New Years’ Eve celebrations.

But sadly I can’t.   There is a fundamental point here that really ought to be mentioned for each and every one of the songs on this album, and that is that all the royalties due to Dylan as the vocalist from the album went to Feeding America in the USA, Crisis in the UK, and the World Food Programme, on all sales for all time.

Given that the album hit number one in the Billboard Holiday Album chart, number five on the folk album chart, number 10 on the rock album chart, and 23 on the album chart in general, a fair amount of money must have been raised, and I imagine is raised each year, which makes it a really excellent statement by Bob.  Whether I care for the music or not is of course totally irrelevant.

Sufjan Stevens

Tony: I have to admit I’m not a person who plays Christmas carols or other songs at Christmas, as I find them a bit, well, schmaltzy is the only word I can think of, and this version of this song is included in the list of tracks I don’t play.   But as I say I’m in Australia for Christmas it will be interesting to see what they play.   Especially as it is the middle of summer.

Meanwhile here are the previous editions…

1. Other people’s songs. How Dylan covers the work of other composers
2. Other People’s songs: Bob and others perform “Froggie went a courtin”
3. Other people’s songs: They killed him
4. Other people’s songs: Frankie & Albert
5. Other people’s songs: Tomorrow Night where the music is always everything
6. Other people’s songs: from Stack a Lee to Stagger Lee and Hugh Laurie
7. Other people’s songs: Love Henry
8. Other people’s songs: Rank Stranger To Me
9. Other people’s songs: Man of Constant Sorrow
10. Other people’s songs: Satisfied Mind
11. Other people’s songs: See that my grave is kept clean
12. Other people’s songs: Precious moments and some extras
13. Other people’s songs: You go to my head
14. Other people’s songs: What’ll I do?
15. Other people’s songs: Copper Kettle
16. Other people’s songs: Belle Isle
17. Other people’s songs: Fixing to Die
18. Other people’s songs: When did you leave heaven?
19. Other people’s songs: Sally Sue Brown
20. Other people’s songs: Ninety miles an hour down a dead end street
21. Other people’s songs: Step it up and Go
22. Other people’s songs: Canadee-I-O
23. Other people’s songs: Arthur McBride
24. Other people’s songs: Little Sadie
25. Other people’s songs: Blue Moon, and North London Forever
26. Other people’s songs: Hard times come again no more
27. Other people’s songs: You’re no good
28. Other people’s songs: Lone Pilgrim (and more Crooked Still)
29. Other people’s songs: Blood in my eyes
30. Other people’s songs: I forgot more than you’ll ever know
31.  Other people’s songs: Let’s stick (or maybe work) together.
32. Other people’s songs: Highway 51
33. Other people’s songs: Jim Jones
34. Other people’s songs: Let’s stick (or maybe work) together.
35. Other people’s songs: Jim Jones
36. Other people’s songs: Highway 51 Blues
37. Other people’s songs: Freight Train Blues
38. Other People’s Songs: The Little Drummer Boy
39. Other People’s Songs: Must be Santa
40. Other People’s songs: The Christmas Song
41. Other People’s songs: Corina Corina
42. Other People’s Songs: Mr Bojangles
43. Other People’s Songs: It hurts me too
44. Other people’s songs: Take a message to Mary
45. Other people’s songs: House of the Rising Sun
46. Other people’s songs: “Days of 49”
47. Other people’s songs: In my time of dying
48. Other people’s songs: Pretty Peggy O
49. Other people’s songs: Baby Let me Follow You Down
50. Other people’s songs: Gospel Plow
51. Other People’s Songs: Melancholy Mood
52. Other people’s songs: The Boxer and Big Yellow Taxi
53. Other people’s songs: Early morning rain
54. Other people’s Songs: Gotta Travel On
55. Other people’s songs: “Can’t help falling in love”
56. Other people’s songs: Lily of the West
57. Other people’s songs: Alberta
58. Other people’s songs: Little Maggie
59. Other people’s songs: Sitting on top of the world
60. Dylan’s take on “Let it be me”
61. Other people’s songs: From “Take me as I am” all the way to “Baker Street”
62. Other people’s songs: A fool such as I
63. Other people’s songs: Sarah Jane and the rhythmic changes
64. Other people’s songs: Spanish is the loving tongue. Author drawn to tears
65. Other people’s songs: The ballad of Ira Hayes
66. Other people’s songs: The usual
67. Other people’s songs: Blackjack Davey
68. Other people’s songs: You’re gonna quit me
69. Other people’s songs: You belong to me
70. Other people’s songs: Stardust
71. Other people’s songs: Diamond Joe
72. Other people’s songs: The Cuckoo
73. Other people’s songs: Come Rain or Come Shine
74. Other people’s songs: Two soldiers and an amazing discovery
75. Other people’s songs: Pretty Boy Floyd
76. Other people’s songs: My Blue Eyed Jane
77. That Old Black Magic (and a lot of laughs)
78. Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
79. Other people’s songs: The Christmas Blues