I didn’t have an idea for my 2019 holiday song until early November. The catalyst was watching two movies in two days: Joker, and then The Big Short. Both movies focused on the 1% vs the 99%; the have’s vs the have-not’s. There was also a lot of news at the time about youth climate strikes, inspired by Greta Thunberg. I also read a rather upsetting article about big chocolate companies using child labour in Africa.

With the climate protests and the chocolate, there were clear choices to be made. Participate. Vote with your dollars. Vote with your conscious. The phrase “Unwrap Your Heart” occurred to me as a way to bring these ideas into a holiday theme. I chose to juxtapose conventional holiday images with the socially conscious ones, with a central message that encouraged listeners to make socially sound decisions.

First draft

My first draft included two verses and a chorus of lyric. As I developed the chords and melody with my piano, I got down two more verses, and a less preachy chorus.

I prefaced each line of verse with “You see” or “You hear” or “You feel” to setup the dualities between pretty holiday things and serious world problems. The minor chord progression in both verse and chorus lent a more sombre, serious tone to the song.

I created an arrangement with keys, bass, drums, and synthesizers. I extended the sombre tone in the arrangement with a lead synth sound and melody that was more legato and mournful.

Song Talk Meetup

I took the recording of my first draft to the monthly Song Talk Meetup in Toronto. I got some great feedback from the songwriters in the group. Unbeknownst to me, I had written a modular song; members were moving around half-verses and lines in the chorus to restructure the lyrics and hopefully make the song better. They helped me get the main idea of the lyrics across in the first verse, and made my chorus land better. In my original draft, the chorus was perfectly symmetrical and simply ended without feeling like an ending. I originally started the chorus with the title, but taking a suggestion from a meetup member, I moved the title to the end, and this resulted in a more conclusive chord progression and melody.

Download the lyrics / chords and listen to my 2019 holiday song here:

Unwrap Your Heart

You see homes lit up
You see towns on fire
You hear sleigh bells ring
You feel the toll of our times

Time to decide
Making a new start
A gift from inside
Unwrap your heart

You see confectionery
You see two-dollar days
You see broken promises
You need fair trade change

You hear songs of joy
You hear cries for help
You see the congregation
You see the grassroots rising

Time to decide
(Unwrap your heart so you can)
Making a new start
A gift from inside
(Make a new start, you’re choosing)
Unwrap your heart

Re-mix

My friend Phil Emery (#noise) heard Unwrap Your Heart and wanted to do a re-mix! He took my MIDI tracks and used all different instruments, including some horn stabs and a new drum track. Very fun!