The point about Redding choosing raw emotion over polished nostalgia is huge. Crosby's version offers escape, but Otis offers company in the mess. That shift from "here's the dream" to "here's the prayer" changes the whole function of the song from selling comfort to validating compleixty. I've noticed that same split in how different families approach holiday traditions, some double down on performanc and others just lean into whatever's actualy happening.
We’ve done our best to create our own traditions since our boys moved into our home in 2018 at ages 3 and 4yrs old. This year was different and special, we had their 2 older brothers (biological) and their family (now our family too) over for Christmas Day dinner. It was awesome!
The point about Redding choosing raw emotion over polished nostalgia is huge. Crosby's version offers escape, but Otis offers company in the mess. That shift from "here's the dream" to "here's the prayer" changes the whole function of the song from selling comfort to validating compleixty. I've noticed that same split in how different families approach holiday traditions, some double down on performanc and others just lean into whatever's actualy happening.
We’ve done our best to create our own traditions since our boys moved into our home in 2018 at ages 3 and 4yrs old. This year was different and special, we had their 2 older brothers (biological) and their family (now our family too) over for Christmas Day dinner. It was awesome!
Thank you for bringing this song to our family tradition and for writing so eloquently what it means to us even if we hadn’t realized it yet.