There’s no shortage of Christmas songs, but most of them have the same feeling. There has been a lot of debate about what makes a song sound “Christmassy,” and Donny Hathaway‘s “This Christmas” is an interesting entry in the canon. It’s jazzy, soulful, funky, and still festive. That may be why it has stayed in rotation every year since its release in 1970.
Its enduring legacy has been carried on with covers by a wide range of artists: Chris Brown, Gloria Estefan, Chicago, CeeLo Green, Harry Connick, Jr., Lady A, Train, and even John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
More recently, the classic tune was covered by Teddy Swims, who included it on his 2021 Christmas album, “A Very Teddy Christmas.”
“Christmas truly is and has always been the most wonderful time of the year!” The singer stated. “A time regardless of differences or distance where we all come together and celebrate love and togetherness! Christmas songs are truly timeless and never get old! Me and all my best buddies came together and recorded some of our very favorite Christmas songs that our biggest influences have done over the years! I can only hope it brings you a bit closer this year! Happy Holidays!”
Today we’re checking out a live performance by Swims. Donning a Santa suit and holding a red solo cup, he delivers the lyrics in a casual yet heartfelt manner to bring the spirit to the song.
Swims stays relatively true to the original arrangement, and for good reason. Hathaway, who co-wrote the song with Nadine McKinnor, crafted it to be timeless. One way he did that is with a catchy recurring theme, but he used several musical devices to make it unique.
“This Christmas” kicks off with horns playing the main theme, a mostly pentatonic descending theme that begins on the root and ends one octave down. However, it’s harmonized it with a unique set of chords: BbMaj7, Bb/Eb, F/A, Dmin, AbMaj9, BbMaj9, Eb7, and F. The harmonic progression happens quickly to give the rich textures of a hip jazz standard.
Another quirky aspect is the phrasing. The theme repeats over two bars, but the second bar drops a beat to be 3/4. This anticipates the line, catching the listener off guard and drawing them into paying attention. The effect is not jarring, though, and lets you keep bopping your head to the beat. The theme repeats three times (another unusual oddity), and on the last time, the fourth beat is added back in to accommodate a gospel-like fill that sets up the verse.
Hathaway’s genius songwriting also ensured the title stood out, making it memorable. Aside from pure repetition, the song’s verse has built-in pauses and band hits at the ends of the first two phrases as he sings “This Christmas.” In the chorus, he uses harmony to do the trick. Just after the words “This Christmas,” he uses a tritone substitution (in this case, a B7#11) to move from the I chord (F) to the IV chord (Bb). It’s a cool effect and one that definitely catches your attention.
Follow along and learn to play with sheet music for “This Christmas”:
