Wow, when you play Jingle Bells in a minor key it becomes something right out of a campy horror story. It’s downright sad when you really listen in, which is probably why you’ve never heard it played like this. The way this sounds it could be a part of an Addams Family Christmas special if someone had the inclination to bring them back to the big screen or at least to TV. And it’s all because it’s being played in a minor key that it sounds so uniquely depressing. I do happen to wonder how many people have ever heard it like this and if they’ve recognized the song. It’s hard not to really because of the cadence.
You don’t often hear sad Christmas songs and there’s a pretty good reason. For as depressing as this holiday can be for some people, and it can don’t kid yourself, it’s usually best to focus on the positive rather than the negative. During this time of year we’re at the ending point of a long 12-month period, and it doesn’t always go so well for some folks. It could be family-related, it could be business-related, or it could be both, but people all over the world typically have problems that somehow seem to become increasingly heightened the closer we get to the holidays. Songs during the holidays are usually kept upbeat to inspire some hope in people and get them to think that there are better times around the corner.
It doesn’t always work, but the effort does pay off sometimes since a person can be made to see the silver lining if they’re given enough support and enough positive energy to really turn themselves around. If they were given this to listen to however it seems like the positive energy would almost get sucked out of the room as though by a vacuum sealer. Some people might find this hauntingly beautiful and even in some ways uplifting, though I don’t know of a lot that would do anything but agree that this song played in a minor key is kind of a downer. The idea that it could be anything but neutral or negative is hard to buy and the fact that it’s so easy to turn such an upbeat song into something so dreadful is disturbing.
The holidays are a time of cheer, of being the people we want to be all year but somehow have to compromise over because we’re so busy trying to get through one day to the next. Those with great support groups and families that care about them are often able to at least get through the holidays without too much struggle, but those that don’t have anyone to offer a positive role model in their lives tend to feel the holiday pressure in a very negative manner. That’s why songs like this are important even if they get repetitive and kind of annoying. When played in the upbeat manner that it was made for Jingle Bells at least reminds you that there’s something good in life to look forward to.
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