Happy New Year!

It's New Year's Eve and time for my last musical post of the year. I have three songs for you this week that are each beautiful in their own way, and each, to me, tells a story of our hopes and dreams for the coming year.

The first song should more accurately be classed as a Christmas song, but I knew I had to include it this week instead, as it definitely represents a message of hope for the future. The video also makes me cry. Every single time I watch it.

The title of the second song will probably tell you instantly why I've included this one. The lyrics will just illustrate the point :-)

Finally, just to prove that I'm a traditionalist at heart, I've included the one song that will be sung around the world as the clocks strike midnight.

Thank you to the people who have welcomed and supported me in the past nine months. I've had such fun, and learned so much. I've shed a few tears for some of you, quietly behind my keyboard, and cheered for others. I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Happy New Year!

A musical Christmas to you all

By the time you read this it will probably be Christmas Eve and, in the spirit of the season, I'm suspending Musical Stories for two weeks. This week, in a move that is neither surprising nor original, you get Christmas songs :-)

I love me some Last Christmas by Wham!, and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl is probably my favourite Christmas song of all time, but I've gone for two songs that, in my opinion, aren't played enough, and a third that I heard for the first time only this morning and knew I had to share. It was hard deciding which one to push out to make room for it, I can tell you :-)

The first song has been covered by many many people, and I spent a lot of time listening to various versions with the intention of bringing you something different. In the end though, I had to admit defeat. Nobody sings it quite as well as this woman!

I've loved the second song since I first heard it as a little girl. At that time, it never struck me as an odd pairing - I was about eight - I'd never heard of either of the singers. Since then, I've decided that whoever thought of putting these two together was a genius.

The last song was one I heard for the first time this morning on Sarah Wesson's blog, Earful of Cider. I think it struck a chord with me instantly, because my parents live abroad, along with my brother and his wife and three children. I feel the distance especially at this time of year. I wish I could be there with them, drinking white wine in the sun!

Whatever you celebrate, have a wonderful holiday. I truly hope that all of you can be with people you want to be with, doing things you want to.