I'll Be Home for Christmas

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby who scored a top ten hit with the song. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" has since gone onto to become a Christmas standard.

Contents

Theme

The song is sung from the point of view of an overseas soldier during WWII, writing a letter to his family. In the message, he tells the family that he will be coming home, and to prepare the holiday for him including requests for "snow", "mistletoe", and "presents under the tree". The song ends on a melancholy note, with the soldier saying "I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams."[1]

Writing and copyright

The song was written by the American lyricist Kim Gannon, and the Jewish-American composer Walter Kent. Buck Ram, who previously wrote a poem and song with the same title, was credited as a co-writer of the song following a lawsuit.[2]

Bing Crosby recording

On October 4, 1943, Crosby recorded the song with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra for Decca Records. Within a month of release, the song charted for eleven weeks, with a peak at number three. The next year, the song reached number nineteen on the charts.

The song touched the hearts of Americans, both soldiers and civilians, who were in the midst of World War II, and it earned Crosby his fifth gold record. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" became the most requested song at Christmas U.S.O. shows. Yank, the GI magazine, said Crosby "accomplished more for military morale than anyone else of that era".

Notable history

In December 1965, astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell while on Gemini 7 requested "I'll Be Home for Christmas" be played for them by the NASA ground crew.

Other recordings

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" was recorded by Perry Como (1946), Frank Sinatra (1957), Sara Evans (Hear Something Country - Christmas 2007, 2007),[3] Kelly Clarkson (in concert)[4] and many other artists. These artists include:

Notes

1 Spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart in December 2007/January 2008[5]

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000010/default.html I'll be home for Christmas [Song Collection]".

  1. ^ Collins, Ace. "Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas". http://books.google.com/books?id=MbCaYq9d9YcC&lpg=PT88&dq=ill%20be%20home%20for%20christmas&pg=PT87#v=onepage&q=ill%20be%20home%20for%20christmas&f=false. Retrieved December 08, 2011. 
  2. ^ The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs - InterfaithFamily.com
  3. ^ "Sara Evans, ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’ – Song Review". http://tasteofcountry.com/sara-evans-ill-be-home-for-christmas/. Retrieved December 08, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Kelly Clarkson, ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ – Song Review". http://popcrush.com/kelly-clarkson-ill-be-home-for-christmas/. Retrieved December 08, 2011. 
  5. ^ Groban version chart info Billboard.com. Retrieved 23 June 2009.