Halloween is past us and Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, which means that Christmas is right around the corner and just waiting for us to turn the last page on our 2024 calendars. While it may still be a little early, the appearance of Christmas items in all the stores and the release of Jonathan McReynolds’ new Christmas song, “Red & Green,” has started to put us into the spirit of the season.
Released in late October, “Red & Green” is a brand new Christmas song for the 2024 holiday season. From the very opening moment of the tune it exudes the classic Christmas feeling through the use of jingling bells and tinkling chimes. It is an incredibly high energy song that gives the feeling of speeding down a sledding hill on a snowy evening.
Musically, there’s a lot going on in this tune, beginning with a galloping guitar and developing to create a thrilling chorus section that adds in orchestral elements set to a rapid, nearly frantic drum beat. Each verse features new additions to the complex assortment of instruments that keeps the song fresh the whole way through.
The imaginative nature of McReynolds’ song is best seen in the bridge section, where the whole song breaks down into a new beat and chord progression. It builds the pressure on the listener until it all falls away to a relaxed version of the chorus, but this ramps up quickly with a repetition of the section.
McReynolds’ lyrics touch on a variety of themes made popular in Christmas classics, like playing reindeer games and a new take on “fa la la” in the chorus section. He evens out secular references to snowball fights and opening new toys with more religious references to “the newborn king” and “every shadow giving way to the light of love.”
McReynolds has crafted a high energy Christmas tune that we fully expect to dominate the radio for Christmas 2024. While it may not have the pure pop power to beat out “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” it is a worthy addition to Christmas music playlists that will be enjoyed for years to come.
