Christmas 2023 was not a typical Minnesota Christmas. For the first time in a very long time, there was no snow. Both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day it rained, and all our plans with family and friends cancelled. This was the 5th Christmas without my family as both mom and dad had passed pre-pandemic and my sister and her family live in Seattle, and I was feeling a certain way.
I wrote the lyrics Christmas Day and the music followed shortly thereafter. I took some of the feelings I was feeling and realized others out there must be having the same kinds of feelings.
I wrote “Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas (Without You)” for those feeling an absence of someone—or something—that was important to them. It could be a lover, friends, parents, a pet… any kind of loss is amplified this time of year.
I harkened back to the nostalgic sounds of the Christmas music I grew up with—Andy Williams and Dean Martin. I pay homage to holiday classics “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, and “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” in the bridge section.
I wanted it to feel familiar and seasonal because the season goes on no matter what has transpired in each of our lives.
Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas (Without You) was written, performed, recorded and mixed in the Forgiveness Unity Studios in Plymouth, MN by Paul David with the amazing Alex Maiers on guitars.
