So here we land
Scraps of Christmas in our hands,
Shards of what we celebrated once as girls and boys
Trying to reanimate them like our lifeless childhood toys
But we've grown up.
Families all torn asunder,
Irony has cornered wonder,
Caution hobbles joy
We block our weary ears as the old carols turn to noise.
But some songs I'll keep.
I like the tunes.
I like the smell of pine and cloves
I love the food...
So if you make a Christmas card,
Put some glitter on it, dammit,
Put some glitter on it, make it sparkle, make it shine
And if you bake a batch of cookies,
Put some sprinkles on it, dammit,
We'll worry in the new year; this is celebration time
With your natal or your chosen family
Turn your phone off, eat a lot, festoon a dying tree
We can't have Christmas past, we can't have Christmas like the movies
But we can play some games and talk awhile,
Watch the kids go running wild
So bake a cake or pie or yams
And put some sugar on it, dammit
Put some sugar on it, makes the medicine go down
And if you wrap a present, you should
Put some glitter on it, dammit
Out here things are bleak, and we could use some sparkles now
The world is dark.
So screw the rising power bill
And put those cliché colored lights up in the kitchen windowsill
The world is cold.
So make a lot of hot spiced wine
And have some patience with the kids
And be just ten percent more kind
The world, it costs
And we've cut back a thing or two
But if I overspend again, then let me overspend on you
The world's unjust
So tell the story once again
Of how we turned the saints away,
How we made no room at the inn
The world is wrong.
And we are ugly to each other.
Ten thousand thousand trespasses
We visit on our sisters and our brothers
So we take something fragile, something pretty
The angel that we cannot be
And hang it up where everyone can see
(At least until the cat knocks down the tree)
So in the rubble, find your scrap of joy
And put some glitter on it, dammit
Put some glitter on it, dammit,
'Cause somehow we're still here
If at the darkest time of year, the stars have
put some glitter on it, dammit,
Put some glitter on it, dammit
Fight the looming fear
A thousand acts of mass defiance,
Beauty in the face of violence
Making something homely special
When it's all we know to do
And if I can't manage it for me,
I'd sparkle everything for you.
Some songs I'll keep.
I like the tunes
I like the smell of spruce and snow
I love seeing you.
Marian Call has things to say. She sounds a little like Ingrid Michaelson meets They Might Be Giants & Regina Spektor for
bourbon & laughs, which sounds improbable, but give it a try. She hails from Alaska and tours North America and Europe, and she lives on Twitter. Her songs are quirky, sharp, surprising confections in every genre full of rich dark carmelized sugar, savor, & spice....more
I listen to this album over and over and over. Music nerds will rejoice at the thrilling changes of texture. These songs make me jump up and down. Marian Call
These upstart teenagers from Alaska (now in Montana) have made a sweet, beautiful, moving record full of love and surprises. This album makes me one million happy. So do the kids who made it. Marian Call
“Portraits” is a collection of expertly drawn narrative songs with sharply observed lyrics and rustic instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 25, 2022