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Christmas Like It Used To Be #festivecomp

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PaulAds

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« on: November 30, 2019, 07:28:26 PM »
I managed to get around to this one...I had the tune kicking about for a couple of months...but it wasn't going anywhere so it has suffered the ignominy of being used for a Christmas song...in other words, I whacked some sleigh bells on it.



It was just a chance to rattle off a load of lyrics about growing up in the 70's and what-have-you. The Soundcloud photo is of my Dad, brother Mark and me outside our old house....probably Christmas 1969.




Christmas Like it Used to Be

VERSE 1

Open fires and open houses
Christmas jumpers, casual trousers
The church bell chimes
The best of times

Friends and family come and go
They melt away into the snow
You wave goodbye
And the time just flies

PRE CH

Ugly pop stars top the chart
Snowmen slowly fall apart
A bag of nuts, a bit of fruit
Unvetted men in santa suits

Movies where the good guys win
Churches with some people in
Glasses raised instead of fists
Eyebrows question honours lists

VERSE 2

A pantomime in every home
In futuristic monochrome
On BBC
Or ITV

Game show bargain basement prizes
Actors wearing bad disguises
You’re starry-eyed
At the TV guide

PRE CH

Auntie knits you a balaclava
Uncle loves the whole palava
Turkey, stuffing, Cranberry
Toys that don't need a battery

No such thing as “interest free”
No suicidal spending spree
No one went the whole nine yards
We maxed out on our Xmas cards

CHORUS

Power cuts and candle light
Three day weeks and snowball fights
Snow drifts blocking country lanes
Frost inside the window panes

Crippled by industrial action
Winter proved a sweet distraction
Even so, I’d like to see
Christmas like it used to be...


Big thanks to Adam and Paulski for running the show and therefore helping me make the effort  :)
« Last Edit: December 29, 2022, 04:36:15 PM by PaulAds »
heart of stone, feet of clay, knob of butter

pompeyjazz

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« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2019, 08:35:24 PM »
Let it snow  :) Love the ugly popstars line. Are there any about these days ? Oh I guess there are thinking about it. This is a great slice of bouncy upbeat xmaspop which put a big smile on my face. Love the winter gear Paul, you could have got lost wearing that winter camouflage gear  :)

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2019, 12:39:59 AM »
The only Christmas of which I have a clear memory (that I can think of at the moment, anyway) is when I was ten years old. I remember looking forward to Christmas as I always had but not getting as excited as I usually did, not sure why. And when Christmas morning arrived, the usual excited Christmas morning feeling was nowhere to be found. It felt like any other morning, in spite of all that was going on. I didn't know what was different, but in retrospect, I suspect it had something to do with getting older, maybe?

Anyway, this song brings that Christmas morning back to me, as well as other Christmases of the past. When you "rattle off a load of lyrics", they tend to be a cut above, in my opinion. I was going to point out one or two of my favorite lines, but there are too many. I love it!

PaulyX

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« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2019, 09:54:00 AM »
Yeah this is excellent PaulAds.  Really made me smile.  When it started I was anticipating the well-loved PaulAds biting humorous cynicism... I kind of thought you'd be laying into Christmas for some reason. But actually here you deliver some hilarious insightful lines while still keeping it warm and fuzzy.  I laughed out loud about the 'unvetted men in Santa suits' and the lines about industrial action and toys that don't need batteries are superb nostalgia-button-pushers for anyone who was a kid in the 70s.  Another favourite line is 'movies where the good guys win' - that just encapsulates the rose-tinted warm fuzziness I get from this... a hankering after childhood memories that I'd like to go back to, but which you also deftly point out were actually probably a bit grim (frost inside the window panes etc).  The past is another country and all that.  Anyway a super super song... choosing who to vote for just got a lot harder now...
It's all too beautiful.

shadowfax

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« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2019, 10:01:55 AM »
When it comes to lyrics mate..you are a GIANT, so many outstanding lines in this song...superb!!
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crystalsuzy

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« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2019, 01:12:54 AM »
Very nostalgic, somewhat whimsical and heart warming. What's not to like :) Had me remembering those good old Christmases as a child. Beautiful lyrics and I love the way the bouncy vibe just carries the song along so effortlessly  :) Another gem of a festive song for the comp. Well done  :)

Wicked Deeds

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« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2019, 05:36:33 AM »
@PaulAds

Beautiful guitar sound and excellent chords that take me back to the early eighties.  I'm hearing The Colour Fields and The style council.  You know that I love your voice Paul and you don't disappoint here. 

Christmas in the northeast of England just as I remember it in my childhood.  Wonderful song my friend!

Perhaps turn the sleigh bells down just a little. Other than that, this was a delightful trip down memory lane my friend!

Paul

adamfarr

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« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2019, 11:11:48 AM »
You seem to do in days what it takes me months to (not quite) achieve...

The backing is so slick and very PaulAds - I suspect all the live playing helps with this.

List songs are great, provided the listed items are all of consistent quality. I’d say here they are and no sign of a forced sounding rhyme.


I’ve noticed you’ve been doing some songs without a definite chorus sometimes - works a treat here.


Nostalgia has a lot to answer for these days but it’s great to take a step back to appreciate what we’ve lived through and perhaps more importantly the people that made it so, like those in the photo I’m sure. You’re the young one, right? ;)




Kim Noel

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« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2019, 11:14:58 AM »
Hey, I love the way you have presented the lyrics you have written, but also the meaning of the lyrics, it makes it so special

dinnerwithgreedo

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« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2019, 09:54:52 PM »
I think everyone has said it all!
No vocals for a whole minute. Not a bad thing if you can pull it off and you definitely have!
Remember.... it's just my opinion. It doesn't make me right. Although i probably am ;)

MichaelA

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« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2019, 10:49:49 AM »
Hi Paul, what a great opening riff and festively catchy instrumental build up. You could probably sell that as a festive sync in its own right, would be great for TV voiceovers etc.

It's got that Christmas melancholy feel to it, despite the jaunty ride, similar to something like 'Driving Home For Christmas', which in a different way pulls at our Christmas heartstrings. As you get older, well there have been a lot of Christmases, some good, some bad, and this song latches onto this universal theme. As such its bound to resonate with a big slice of the population.

I don't normally like fade outs, but here your fade out suggests Christmases going on forever, which I guess they kind of will. So you are forgiven!  :)

The riffing, the lyrics and the overall melody are all super - as such a worthy contender in the competition.

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seriousfun

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« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2019, 11:03:40 PM »
This was an absolute delight to listen to.  Bounced along and took me every step of the way.  Very very catchy and the accompanying video is first rate.  This deserves to go viral on You tube.

Jamie

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« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2019, 03:53:39 PM »
Hi Paul, Loved this, what a brilliant lyric,superb. Great overall production/playing/singing and arrangement.Laughed out loud at the video too. Brilliant, just brilliant. Liked the look of that Ricky too.........


Cheers
Jamie

Paulski

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« Reply #13 on: December 15, 2019, 03:38:16 AM »
Gotta say it too - amazing lyrics - so many clever lines.  ;D ;D
I like the serious dancers and the "musical interludes" in this too.
For "whacked together" this sounds like a winner to me.

Merry Christmas!
Paul

Binladeda

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« Reply #14 on: December 15, 2019, 09:30:56 AM »

 Hey Paul, ;D

 Took me right back to my Grandparents living room, with all the family (now all long gone) so a BIG BIG thank you for that xx ;D ;D
 Hancocks half hour, Bootsie and Snudge, Quatermas and the Pit.  'must watch' TV when I was a kid.  The video was fantastic.  The song
 was fantastic, nothing but praise........So much nostalgia of Xmas past for me.  Even you're sideboard ;D ;D .  Only thing not there was some
 Sobranie cocktail cigarettes and some Advocaat  ;D ;D

 Really impressive stuff Paul,  and you make it look so easy ;D ;D
 Merry Christmas mate ;D

Nowt as queer as folk...........my gran