Christmas music has a bit of a reputation problem. Every December, we’re subjected to the same revolving door of sleigh bells, romantic misunderstandings and songs about how apparently the only thing anyone wants for Christmas is someone else’s presence. We all have to go round and round the same few choices year after year: sleigh bells, cheesy romances and songs that apparently state explicitly that nothing else matters at this time of year apart from having someone else there with you. Every so often, though, something comes along that reminds you that the season isn’t just about mince pies and poorly judged family gifts. In the case of Garrett Anthony Rice‘s “As Magic As The Snow“, it’s about the things we lose.
Recorded at Darklands Studio, Dublin with producer Dan Doherty, featuring live brass and orchestra, this was a major step for Rice. It is an overreach, no doubt, but one that is played for purpose, rather than just for the sake of elevating everything into an expensive, grandeur spectacle. And this richness in production is, in fact, burdened with sentimentality, in the story of the song itself: a six-year-old boy revisiting his favourite sledding hill at Christmas, where he now plays with the ghost of his best friend who died suddenly a year previously.
And yes, that’s a complete state of heartbreak. Christmas, it seems, has come to the realisation that emotional complexity is an inherent part of the holiday experience.
But the song’s most powerful line is “Hold yours close, you never know when your garden may froze.” It’s a strange image, but one that holds a painful truth of how delicate childhood, friendship and the unfortunate fact that life doesn’t always hold up a big STOP sign.
What makes As Magic As The Snow special is how it avoids the cliche of grief disappearing once the decorations come down. It discovers a strange, delicate beauty in the art of remembering someone even when it hurts to do so.
If Christmas music is supposed to stir an emotion in us, then Rice has definitely got that down pat. “As Magic As The Snow” is a weepy nod to the fact that sometimes the greatest magic of Christmas is remembering who’s not with us.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
