Greetings during this time of short days and long nights in the northern hemisphere.
I hope you are warm and well as you read this blog post.
Right now in Massachusetts we are graced with a beautiful full moon shining down on our snow-less streets.
I first shared the song “After The Holidays” (in the player at the top of this page) three years ago in a blog post about the challenges of feeling lonely during the holiday season.
As you may remember — or perhaps you have blocked it out of your memory in order to be able to move on with your life — three years ago things were not going well in the USA.
Many hospitals were overwhelmed by COVID — with dead bodies being stored in refrigerated trailer trucks until funeral homes and crematoria could catch up with the demand for their services.
It was a very challenging winter holiday season.
And 2023 has brought new challenges — and tragedies — into our lives here on planet earth.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
Wars continue to grind along, destroying human lives along with the lives of countless other beings caught in the cross fire. Pollution continues to seep into every ecosystem here on planet earth. Climate change continues to increase with catastrophic consequences.
My heart goes out to anyone who is feeling hopeless, who is feeling distraught, who is feeling alone, or who is feeling unloved during this holiday season.
And although I am fortunate to have a life partner + family + friends with whom I can gather during the holidays, I can vividly remember how heart-broken and grief-stricken I felt when the first big love of my life chose to end our relationship many decades ago…
“After The Holidays” taps into those feelings of raw desperation.
It was written by John Meyer.
His friend Judy Garland performed it on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1968.
Mr. Meyer is still alive and living in New York City.
Earlier this month I tracked down an email address for him so that I could let him know I had released a version of his song.
And much to my (happy) surprise, he was kind enough to give it a listen.
Here is how he responded:
“Will, I’m impressed.
You’re note-perfect — good for you!
Others bend the melody to suit their often tasteless predilections.
And I like that you take your time with the song, investing it with real poignancy.
Thank you for sharing.
Merry Christmas!”
Needless to say, I am delighted (and relieved) that he responded so positively to how pianist Doug Hammer and I interpreted his song.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
And I will gently point out that this is yet another winter holiday song written (or co-written) by Jewish composers/lyricists — joining a beloved list of favorites including “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Silver Bells,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Let It Snow,” and “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.”
Here is a link to my version “After The Holidays“ in case you might like to stream it.
And as I have explained before, if you “like” one of my songs or add it to one of your playlists, that will improve the algorithmic sharing of my music.
Thank you to the John Meyer for writing such a moving song.
Thank you to Doug Hammer for playing so sensitively on my version of John’s song AND for being such a diligent engineer/producer.
Thank you to Stephen Fischer for his terrific graphic design work.
Thank you to the photographers at Pixabay — and to Scott Wynn — for their great images.
And thank YOU for reading. and listening to another one of my blog posts!
May your 2024 be full of peace and hope and determination…
amusicalifeonplanetearth 