Hear Lucinda Williams’ Cozy ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’
On “Minneapolis,” Lucinda Williams found herself lonely in a cold December, and on “Sweet Side,” she sang of someone damaged by a rough childhood, even though “every Christmas there were presents to unwrap.” But other than those two World Without Tears album cuts, the 61-year-old Louisiana native has little holiday music to her name.
Below, however, hear her cover Meet Me in St. Louis classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” for Amazon Christmas compilation All Is Bright, slightly slurring its bittersweet lyrics. “I feel that it has a depth to it that goes way beyond the usual Christmas song,” Williams says of the tune.
Last month, Williams talked to Rolling Stone about how she grew into the relaxed vocal approach that she uses here. “My dad was always very strict about enunciating,” she said. “But it wouldn’t sound the same if I enunciated while I was singing. [Laughs] But it’s part of just being more relaxed vocally. I think I was in an identity crisis, that I just hadn’t really found both sides of my songwriting and my voice. The two have finally come together in a way on this album that they never have before.”