The tune “White Winter Hymnal” contains no references to the holidays or Christmas. Or, for that matter, winter. Snow is described as being “red as strawberries in the summertime” – probably due to blood.
Despite this, the song has become a modern Christmas classic, with children’s choirs singing it at several school assemblies. On Christmas Eve, its Spotify play count peaks at around 180 million for the two most popular versions.
The story of “White Winter Hymnal” is a reminder of how songs can travel through the public awareness in ways that even its composers are unable to comprehend.
“There’s a sense of humour in the cosmos.” “Sometimes there are just these tiny cosmic flukes,” Robin Pecknold, who penned it when he was 20 and sat on his parents’ couch while watching “The Simpsons” on TV, said. He was working on the music for his band’s debut album, Fleet Foxes.
It took around 20 minutes, according to Pecknold.
As a result, the piece has a basic, ethereal beauty to it. It consists of a single verse sung three times in a round or perpetual canon style, with numerous voices repeating the same melody at different beginning points (“I was following…”).
The melody rises to a height before tumbling down, much like the song’s protagonist, Michael, does when he falls in the snow. It’s done in less than two and a half minutes.
When it was published in the summer of 2008, “White Winter Hymnal” drew some attention in the alternative rock industry. “Its message may remain obscure after so many listens — something about the change of seasons — but its spell remains as strong as ever,” writer Stephen Deusner said in Pitchfork magazine, which ranked the song its No. 2 favorite track of the year.
John Frank Lyke, an aspiring actor, was so taken with “White Winter Hymnal” that he shot a home movie of a couple wandering through the woods in freshly fallen snow. They arrive in a clearing with a view of Lake Champlain, and the scene abruptly changes seasons when Pecknold sings the word “summertime.” The couple jumps into the lake, bathed in the sun.
Lyke described the song as having a “magical winter wonderland mood.” “It reminded me of going to midnight mass with my family.”
Pecknold didn’t write with the holidays in mind. Other singers began recording “White Winter Hymnal,” and one of them, Kim Wilde, included it on a holiday-themed album in 2013. Pentatonix did the same for their album “That’s Christmas to Me” a year later.
That’s when the song took on a whole new meaning. Pentatonix’s video for “White Winter Hymnal” has had over 96 million views on YouTube, while F leet Foxes’ video, a Claymation scenario created by Robin’s brother Sean, has received 23 million views.
The music altered both context and ownership in some ways: “A Pentatonix song,” according to Google results for “‘White Winter Hymnal’ lyrics.”
Choir directors from all around the world took note of a performance by a vocal band with a young fanbase.
“It’s really charming to me when choir groups do it,” Pecknold added. “It’s kind of touching when someone says to me, ‘I’m at my kid’s recital, and they’re performing your song,’ and then sends me a video.” It’s incredibly wonderful to imagine yourself in that universe. “Nothing compares to that.”
When Pecknold looks at the Spotify stats for his song, he notices that the number of plays rises with the arrival of autumn, peaks on Christmas Eve, and then drops considerably.
“Holiday songs tend to lean into a specific type of musical nostalgia, referencing the acoustic timbral palette of the holiday recorded canon, from Bing Crosby to Eartha Kitt,” said Nathaniel Sloan, musicologist and co-host of the “Switched on Pop” podcast. “Fleet Foxes’ acoustic-folk sound is well-suited to these nostalgic tones.”
“In addition, the song’s carol-like vocal style, with its layered melodies that stack upon one another, harkens back to deeper Christmas customs,” Sloan said.
Then you pay special attention to the lyrics:
“I was following the pack, all engulfed in their coats with red scarves tied around their throats to keep their little heads from falling in the snow, and I looked ’round and there you were, Michael, falling and turning the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime,” says the narrator.
According to one Internet hypothesis, “White Winter Hymnal” is about decapitation, with the red scarf representing the French Revolution. Michael is about to be executed by guillotine.
Is that possible? What exactly is the song about?
Pecknold pauses as he considers the question.
“Another amusing feature of it,” he added, “is that it’s vaguely unrelated to anything.”
Keeping family and friends together as individuals matured and changed was a recurrent theme of songs on Fleet Foxes’ debut, and that was on his mind while he composed. While he admits that the most literal vision of a youngster tumbling down a hill and dying is possible, Pecknold insists that the song is not about decapitation.
“The slightly grim phrases were hurting the pleasure of the tune,” he explained. “I found that contradiction to be intriguing. I’m making songs right now with the anticipation of having to defend them in some way. But I was definitely not at the moment.”
According to Sloan, the ambiguity and possible darkness make it a startling divergence. While some holiday classics have a sad tone, the majority of them create a warm sense of family and good joy.
However, he anticipates “White Winter Hymnal” to be a long-lasting hit.
“Not only is it a delight to listen to, but it’s also a joy to perform,” Sloan said. “The chord structure is relatively simple and easy to learn, the unusual vocal lines lend themselves to group singing, and the lyrical repetition allows anyone to join in and sing along.”
Each year, the song receives greater attention; Spotify said that it was streamed 30% more this September and October than in 2020, and was nearly at prior December levels. Pecknold received a windfall as a songwriter as a result of the Pentatonix recording, which he mostly invested back into music. It’s being utilized in Spanish lottery advertising this season. Earnings potential is only expected to improve.
He’s taken aback by the unpredictability of it all.
“That’s the strange thing about this,” he added. “You spend years doing music, writing songs, believing it’s all about hard work and putting in the hours.” “To an extent, it is, but then one day you’ll get a random scratch card and discover the music that ends up being your most well-known song by accident.”
“A Very Lonely Solstice,” a live recording by Fleet Foxes, was just released and comprises tracks that create a seasonal vibe without being directly about the holidays.
However, “White Winter Hymnal” isn’t included.
With a giggle, Pecknold replied, “That’s a Christmas song at this point.”