I Believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake (1975) 12/23/22

In 1975, Greg Lake, guitarist for the British trio Emerson, Lake and Palmer sat down to write a Christmas song...and the end result was (IMHO) one of the most beautiful, yet misunderstood Holiday songs of all time.

"I Believe in Father Christmas" was about how commercialization was ruining the true meaning of Christmas, and yet MANY people felt it was an anti-religious song.

According to Greg and lyricist Peter Sinfield, they were both surprised at the backlash...but even so, the song climbed all the way to #2 on the British charts.

The beauty of the piece is how Greg's simple guitar melody is augmented--thanks to a suggestion by bandmate Keith Emerson--by a section from the "Lieutenant Kije Suite," a classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Greg then added an orchestra and choir with stunning results!

(Note, in later years, the Prokofiev section was played on flute, which you can hear in the live version linked below, played beautifully by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson.)

Greg also decided to film a video of the song--which in 1975--was WAY ahead of its time. Much of it was filmed in the Middle East, where footage was shot at an oasis in the Sahara Desert, as well as the cave of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Stock World War II footage was also used to great effect, especially in the UK, where, after 20 years, there were still visible (and personal) scars throughout London and elsewhere.

The final line of the song, "The Christmas we get, we deserve," sounds a bit harsh at first listen, but upon reflection is quite true, and always has been.

"I Believe in Father Christmas" by Greg Lake: a "Great Christmas Song of 1975," and of all time.

Original video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfY4b1NszpY

Live version (2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-PAKOt7sM