"Writing Case" [Born to Free] — Post 1

New Christmas songs are not born every minute, nor every day, nor even every year; mostly we just hear the old ones rehashed again and again, some beautifully, some less so. The point is: once upon a time, "Joy to the World" (1719), "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" (1739), "Silent Night" (1816-18), and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (1868) were brand new. The same is true, of course, of all the secular songs we have come to think of as seasonal staples, of which there is a seemingly endless stream of dumb covers.

This Christmas song, "Writing Case [Born to Free]," is new this year, A.D. 2024. It was written in less than a day, with the guitar setting coming on the evening of December 18, and the lyric in the early hours of the morning of December 19, 2024. A couple of stanzas from Rossetti's reading of Revelation got me started on the lyric, but only one or two of her (p.d.) turns of phrase made it through unaltered; no, by God's grace, it's my lyric. 

The guitar part is quite simple and was recorded in one take on December 19 (though this single take was shortened, since I repeated it more times than necessary). The vocals were recorded later that day, but I revised a few words, so I did a couple of quick retakes on Friday morning, December 20, with video running, as I awaited for the arrival of a contractor. (One does what one can in the comings and goings of life to "make the most of the time.") After another appointment, the guitar videos were done in the late morning and afternoon (but the afternoon shots were unusable for being too dark and badly framed), video edits in the evening, with a few early morning edits on December 21. The track was released on the morning of December 21. Start to finish, from chords to lyrics and melody to recording to editing to mixing to video to track release, less than 72 hours. All this is simply to say that, when the Holy Spirit has something to say, we do well to just go along and enjoy the ride. 

So, Merry Christmas, everyone. Happy birthday, Jesus. And welcome to the world, little song. May you, "Writing Case [Born to Free]," soon find yourself well-known and happily numbered in the beloved repertoire of sacred Christmas music. 

NOTE (likely to be repeated): Although this track is available on most major streaming services, I actually use very few social media platforms; so, when it says, "Please share with those you love," I would be grateful if you would funnel this musical "Jesus prayer" to your loved ones by way of (copy and paste links to) any social platforms that you happen to use. Thank you for doing so. Thank you, as well, for going the extra mile to support indie authors and musicians by, not just liking, but sharing, purchasing downloads, spreading the word, etc. God bless you. God bless us, everyone.