Jamie Cullum - The Pianoman at Christmas

It's Christmas
Jamie Cullum Lyrics

"It's Christmas"
First of December and here come the songs

I look at you, and think, "What could go wrong?"
'Cause it's Christmas
So why can't we all just get along?
Let's make it happen, let's make amends
He won't fill your stocking if we can't be friends
So why can't we all just get along?
Everybody's crowded round the Christmas tree

Digging out the best to themselves
Shove your petty differences right up the chimney, please
At least until the drums of the twelfth
D'you hear the choir singin'?

The bells don't stop ringin'
You can stop your cryin', come on
Let's make some new memories
Well, of course, there'll be laughter and tears

Bring me all of the colours and leave them right here
Yeah, it's Christmas
Why can't we all just get along?
We can do it, ya know

We can
Come on
D'you hear the choice singin'?

The bells don't stop ringin'
You can stop your cryin', come on
Let's make some new memories
Well, of course, there'll be laughter and tears

Bring me all of the colours and leave them right here
Yeah, it's Christmas
Beautiful, Altogether
We are beautiful, when we're altogether

Round a table that could burst at the seams
Singing old melodies
That just live on the breeze
We are magical, when we're altogether

With the holly and the ivy in bloom
Share a present or two
With a warm merry tune
Decorating the room
I know that we've been untethered
But it's true, whatever the weather
We're beautiful when we're altogether
Just once a year

We'll gather here
And bring out all the joy of festive cheer
Familiar scenes
The same routines
Of paper crowns and mistletoe and old movies
We are beautiful, when we're altogether

Why don't you and I just drift back to shore?
Where the fireplace roars
From the rooftops we'll call
Merry Christmas to all!
I know that we've been untethered

Now come home, where there's always shelter
We're beautiful when we're all together
Hang Your Lights
"Hang Your Lights"
Sing, sing, sing of the mistletoe

Dance, dance, dance by the fire
Keep the golden songs alive
With an old church choir
And you can hang your lights on me
Love, love, love under frosty skies

Arm in arm in the snow
There's a twinkle in your eyes
'Cause when you know, you know
You can hang your lights on me
Hang your lights (Hang your lights)

Put yourself at the top of my tree
Bring, bring, bring down a gleaming crown

Raise a toast to one and old
Shut the curtains and the door
I want your loving not your war
And you hang your lights on me
I'll be your angel

At the top of your tree
'Cause in my stable
You'll always be
It's a cosy little room
Underneath the frosted moon
We'll hang the lights on you
I'll be your angel

At the top of your tree
'Cause in my stable
You'll always be
It's a cosy little room
Underneath the frosted moon
We'll wrap and hang the lights on you
Let me hang my lights on you

Let me hang my lights on you
There's nothing else this Christmas
That I would rather do
Hang your lights

Oh oh oh oh
Oh

You gotta hang your lights on me
Just put yourself at the top of my tree
Oh

You gotta hang your lights on me
The Jolly Fat Man
"The Jolly Fat Man"
I's been a long and lonely year

But the big man's comin'
Sack full o cheer
He's got his boots on and his big red hat
He got presents that he gonna dispatch
You can relax
The jolly fat man is back
Well, he don't like, to complicate
Don't read the papers
Or join debates
He can put a smile back on your face
Make sure there's room inside your fireplace
You can relax
The jolly fat man is back
Well, everybody needs a holiday

Wouldn't you if you'd been round the whole world in your sleigh?
Coming down your chimney (and that's no mean feat!)
I think you can forgive him if he overeats
We've all been livin' underground

But when Christmas morning comes back around
Hold on tightly to the one that you love
Cos here's the moment we've been dreaming of
You can relax, the jolly fat man has come back
Everybody needs a holiday

Wouldn't you if you'd been round the whole world in your sleigh?
Coming down your chimney (and that's no mean feat!)
I think you can forgive him if he overeats
We've all been livin' underground

But when Xmas morning comes back around
Hold on tightly to the one that you love
Cos here's the moment we've been dreaming of
You can relax, the jolly fat man has come back
The jolly fat man has come back
The holly jolly fat man is back
The Pianoman At Christmas
"The Pianoman At Christmas"
Sitting down there at the old folks home crooning "White Christmas"
I got three hundred songs about Santa Claus under my fingers
Then down to the Crown hotel
Play 'till our heads hurt like hell
I'm asking myself
Who am I supposed to be?
But there's always somewhere to go

You're never gonna be lonely
Under the mistletoe
I thought I could be your man
But I'm just the pianoman
At Christmas
There's always a new place to go to, just no one to go with

But when I strike up with old Nat King Cole, I'm the hero till morning
While they rock around the tree
I can't shake I feel so empty
I'm asking myself
But there's always somewhere to go

Under the mistletoe
Well, I've always been a loner with some songs in my back pocket
And a million bar room uprights couldn't bring me any solace
Will someone come and tell me
I'm just tryin' to find my way through

Don't care about a saviour, just wanna hold on to you
Yeah, there's always somewhere to go

Under the mistletoe
But I'm always the pianoman at Christmas
Turn On The Lights
"Turn On The Lights"
Turn on the lights, turn on the lights

I wanna feel that winter solstice high
Can it make everything alright?
Show me reindeer flying through the midnight sky
We've got a dream that comes back every year

Fallen pines needles and stockings full of cheer
I want it all until it disappears
'Fore it's gone, gone, gone
Another Christmas is around the corner

And I can feel us darling getting closer
It's coming down the road, and stopping it now
Stopping it now is impossible
I built a snowman out the back

It came alive and flew me round this sleepy town
I put an old scarf round its neck
And every time you kiss me, my head turns upside down
We've got a dream that comes back every year

Fallen pines needles and stockings full of cheer
I want it all until it disappears
'Fore it's gone, gone, gone

Time to turn on all the lights, all the lights


So Many Santas
There's the one whose hat is falling of his head

There's the one who doesn't look like he could drive a sled
So take me to the leader of the greatest renown
Cos there's so many Santas
In this town
Now there's the one who can't control his eight reindeer
And that one at the mall seems to lack some basic cheer
So take me to the North Pole to the top of the tree
Cos there's so many Santas
Do you agree?
Though there's magic in all of his brethren
They always report to the King
He's the one whose at the heart of the engine
He's the one who makes us all sing
So if you walk by one of St Nick's dynasty

Be assured that he's part of the majesty
The guardians of Christmas, the jewels in the crown
Cos there's so many Santas in this town
And I love everyone of these old clowns
Now where's the one who turns the whole world upside down?
Though there's magic in all of his brethren

They always report to the King
He's the one whose at the heart of the engine
He's the one who makes us all sing
So if you walk by one of St Nick's dynasty

Be assured that he's part of the majesty
The guardians of Christmas, the jewels in the crown
And there's so many Santas in this town
And I love everyone of these old clowns
Now where's the one who turns the whole world upside down?
Christmas Never Gets Old
It may be a seasoned story

But find a greater feeling
When driving along down the road to home
Christmas, never gets old
I don't get tired of the singing

Or eating the same old things
Love every one of the rituals
All the presents are wrapped and the stockings are hung
All the children relieved all the waiting is done
The houses aglow

Now look up! Mistletoe!
Let's get, on with the show
All of the usual faces

Church bells are reeling me in
Gimme red and green, silver and gold
All the presents are wrapped and the stockings are hung
All the children relieved all the waiting is done
The houses aglow

Now look up! Mistletoe!
Let's get, on with the show
All of the usual faces

Church bells are reeling me in
Gimme red and green, silver and gold
How Do You Fly?
Let's say hello to the real world

Give her a wave
Tell her it's ok
To be scared of being discovered
Find it hard to trust another
To feel often like a child when you are grown
Saw you swoop by

On that frosty night
I swear it was you
Lord, it must be true
I am tired but my eyes are shining
Be the one who catches lightening
But I'm scared of letting all the magic go
And how do you fly?

Cos I think I'm ready to give it a try
Let's say hello to the real world

Bring on the rain
It'll be ok
How do you fly round the planet?
Can you speak in every language?
How will I create my own path through the world?
And how do you fly?

And how do you fly?
I hear your feet on my old slate roof

I'll stay in bed, no I don't need proof
Let me hold on to the magic
Now close your eyes my sweet romantic
When they open there's another Christmas Day
And how do you fly?

And how do you fly?
I think I'm ready to give it a try

Christmas Caught Me Crying
Well, there's no forecast for any snow

And there's still so much that I'll never know
I should be full of cheer but it's all so mystifying
That Christmas, Christmas caught me crying
As happiness hangs on every door

And a children's choir sings "A King is Born!"
Tells me I've lost my way
And how I've given up on trying
And Christmas, Christmas caught me crying
I'm the last leaf on the tree

A crescent moon cracked over an infinite sea
Am I the only one who feels so real?
Well, I know this should melt the ice away

Out my window no reindeer pulling sleighs
But I'm anchored to the ground
But if I could I'd be flying
And Christmas, Christmas caught me crying
In The Bleak Midwinter (Amazon Original)
Jamie Cullum Discusses His Delightful ‘The Pianoman at Christmas’

BY GEOFFREY HIMES
2 DAYS AGO
Some artists see the Christmas album as a career obligation to be dispensed with as
quickly as possible. Others see it as a “Get Out of Jail Free” card, a chance to
shrug off all career calculations and old habits and just have some fun with the
music. Audiences and critics don’t see a holiday record as a “real album” in an
artist’s catalogue, so why not treat it like a vacation from your job?
That’s what jazz artists Jamie Cullum and Warren Wolf have done with their new
Christmas albums, and the result is a delightful playfulness. Cullum, a London
singer and pianist, has released The Pianoman at Christmas, while Wolf, a Baltimore
vibraphonist and pianist, has released Christmas Vibes. Both take advantage of the
genre’s low expectations to revel in melody and to take some chances.
“Absolutely,” agrees Cullum. “It’s freedom within the limitations of the subject
matter, but once you’re in the subject you can write about all the same things you
do in other songs, as long as you throw in some snow and mistletoe. It allows you
to think wide-screen. If it were a regular album, maybe I would be shy about doing
four choruses at the end of this song or having a huge orchestra come in only at
the end of a song. But because it’s a Christmas album, why not? It’s like writing a
musical; as long as you stay within the storyline, you can do anything you want.”
The Pianoman at Christmas

Buy from Amazon
“A lot of Christmas music is like the blues,” adds Wolf. “You don’t have to always
be thinking about this chord and that chord; you can just swing along and have fun.
Christmas songs are very friendly, very easy to listen to. As a kid, I watched the
Charlie Brown Christmas Special on TV, and I liked it even though I didn’t know it
was jazz. I said, ‘This stuff is really cool, really swinging.’”
When Cullum was planning the album, his British label, Island Records, said, “Why
don’t you do half covers? You have a big audience, and they love the way you
interpret songs.” Cullum responded, “No, that’s too easy. At the end of the day,
I’m a songwriter. If I had to stay home and write songs all day, that’d be fine
with me. When you think of all the people who have recorded ‘The Christmas Song’
and songs like that, and they’ve all done such a good job, why should I do the same
thing?”
He was stuck at home in London, however, due to the pandemic, so he didn’t have
access to all the studio technology he usually relies on. So instead he started
with a notebook, jotting down phrases from his favorite Christmas artworks, from
Bing Crosby to David Sedaris, from Charles Dickens to Frank Capra, and from scraps
of conversation about the holiday.
“When I started to actually write the songs,” Cullum recalls, “I would literally
start with a line, like ‘So Many Santas,’ I liked the idea of a kid walking around
the city not understanding why there are 10 Santas in a four-block area. Once I had
a subject idea and a lyric line, I just started improvising at the piano for 20
minutes, which is all the time I had between my kids’ home-schooling sessions.
“Out of that 20 minutes, I’d have maybe 10-20 seconds that were strong, but I would
go back to it and build around it. Eventually, I’d have enough to say, ‘This needs
a chorus; that verse is kind of wishy-washy.’ That’s when I brought my craft to
it.”
The result is a finger-snapping, brassy, big-band arrangement that recalls Frank

Sinatra’s work with Billy May. Cullum begins with the comic observations, “There’s
the one whose hat is falling off his head; there’s the one who doesn’t look like he
could drive a sled.” But he ends up crowing, “I love everyone of these old clowns,”
right before a trumpet solo.
Several more tunes take the same hard-swinging approach, but the stand-out track on
the album is “Hang Your Lights,” where the swing has that New Orleans syncopation
from the period when Louis Prima’s orchestra was being supplanted by Dave
Bartholomew’s arrangements for Fats Domino. There’s even a baritone sax riff and a
female-vocal passage. The title line adds the mild sexual innuendo of that era, as
in Lee Dorsey’s “Ride Your Pony.”
The album’s title comes from a song originally called, “There’s Always a Job for a
Piano Man at Christmas.” But it was terrible title; the word “job” is hard to sing
and isn’t very Christmasy. But Cullum wanted to write a song about that time in his
20s and early 30s when he’d spend every December going from bar to bar playing
Christmas songs.
“I used to think of myself as Jack Baker from The Fabulous Baker Boys, the Jeff
Bridges character in love with Michelle Pfeiffer,” he confesses. “That led to the
phrase, ‘I thought I could be your man, but I’m just the piano man at Christmas,’
And that scanned a lot better. I said, ‘I’m not going to escape the Billy Joel
reference, so why not just go with it?’”
“Turn on the Lights,” which begins with rock’n’roll triplets on the piano beneath
an aggressive vocal over a punchy beat, also betrays the Billy Joel influence. “I’m
a huge fan,” Cullum admits. “I’ve opened up for him a few times at Madison Square
Garden. He’s never shied away from musical ambition and ingenuity even as he’s made
all these hit albums. And I’ve tried to do the same thing on this album.”
Cullum says his favorite Christmas recording of all time is Nat King Cole’s version
of “The Christmas Song,” written by jazz crooner Mel Torme and TV/film scriptwriter
Robert Wells. “That’s the gold standard,” Cullum insists, “just the way he sings
it, the way he times it, the way the band plays. Harmonically, it’s no walk in the
park, but Nat delivers it as it’s coming off a juke box. And it was a #1 single. He
has that voice as warm as slippers. Even though I’ve never seen chestnuts roasting
over an open fire, but I know just how that feels.
“Opening with such a killer line announces what just what the song’s going to do.
It opens with the money shot. And it’s not just the lyric; it’s that leap in the
melody.” Here Cullum sings the octave leap from “chest” to “nuts” to demonstrate.
“I try to do something similar on my song ‘Beautiful Altogether,’ which also
invites you in with a shot at the goal in the first line.” Here he sings, “We are
beautiful, when we’re altogether ‘round a table that could burst at the seams.” “A
lot of the time with melodies, it’s instinctual, it’s only after I’ve written it
that I feel I’ve found something.”
Warren Wolf.
Wolf does something similar on “Wake Up, Little Kids, It’s Christmas,” his one
original song on Christmas Vibes. The melody takes a big leap upward as it goes
from “The night be-” to “fore” to describe a Christmas Eve in Wolf’s Maryland home.
The vocal is handled by Allison Bordlemay, but the harmony is established by Wolf’s
piano and the melody by his chiming vibraphone. After this introduction, the action
shifts to Christmas morning, as little kids, rubbing their eyes, stumble from their
beds to the gifts under the tree.
“Arranging the standards for the album was fun,” Wolf admits, “but writing an
original song was hard. I started by writing about the crazy scene here on
Christmas, from my and my wife’s point of view. When we were recording it, my
vocalist said, ‘Warren, how do you want this song?’ The picture that came into my
mind was one of those old Disney films were the old woman is serving dinner to the
children and singing to them in a happy, homey feel. Then the second part goes into
a gospel feel.”
That gospel-soul flavor is even more obvious on Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,”
sung by Micah Smith. But the record’s repertoire ranges all over the map, from
“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky for the 1892 ballet,
The Nutcracker, to John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1971 single, “Happy Xmas (War Is
Over),” recorded with the Harlem Community Choir.
In between are three songs from the holiday TV specials of Wolf’s childhood: How
the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Charlie Brown Christmas. The two songs from the
latter show, “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Skating,” were written by jazz pianist
Vince Guaraldi and lyricist Lee Mendelson.
“Guaraldi’s music sounds like Jazz 101,” Wolf acknowledges, “the basic harmony we
should all know as jazz musicians. But he found a way to make it sound happier than
anyone else. I had a specific vision for this album, that it would be something
people could play while they’re eating dinner on Christmas Day. When we do solo,
it’s just enough for people to say, ‘This is cool; let’s get back to the melody.’”

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It's Christmas

Jamie Cullum Lyrics

First of December and here come the songs

Everybody's crowded round the Christmas tree

D'you hear the choir singin'?

Well, of course, there'll be laughter and tears

We can do it, ya know

D'you hear the choice singin'?

Well, of course, there'll be laughter and tears

We are beautiful, when we're altogether

We are magical, when we're altogether

Just once a year

We are beautiful, when we're altogether

I know that we've been untethered

Hang Your Lights

"Hang Your Lights"

Sing, sing, sing of the mistletoe

Love, love, love under frosty skies

Hang your lights (Hang your lights)

Bring, bring, bring down a gleaming crown

I'll be your angel

I'll be your angel

Let me hang my lights on you

Hang your lights

Hang your lights (Hang your lights)

Hang your lights (Hang your lights)

The Jolly Fat Man

"The Jolly Fat Man"

I's been a long and lonely year

Well, everybody needs a holiday

We've all been livin' underground

Everybody needs a holiday

We've all been livin' underground

The Pianoman At Christmas

"The Pianoman At Christmas"

But there's always somewhere to go

There's always a new place to go to, just no one to go with

But there's always somewhere to go

I'm just tryin' to find my way through

Yeah, there's always somewhere to go

Turn On The Lights

"Turn On The Lights"

Turn on the lights, turn on the lights

We've got a dream that comes back every year

Another Christmas is around the corner

I built a snowman out the back

We've got a dream that comes back every year

Turn on the lights, turn on the lights

Another Christmas is around the corner

Turn on the lights, turn on the lights

There's the one whose hat is falling of his head

So if you walk by one of St Nick's dynasty

Though there's magic in all of his brethren

So if you walk by one of St Nick's dynasty

Christmas Never Gets Old

It may be a seasoned story

I don't get tired of the singing

The houses aglow

All of the usual faces

The houses aglow

All of the usual faces

How Do You Fly?