Bells will be ringin’ the sad, sad news...
Originally written and recorded in 1960, Charles Brown’s quintessential bluesy Christmas classic “Please Come Home For Christmas” sounds purely festive when it first reaches your ears, beginning with the tolling of a bell signifying the coming of the holiday season. The arrangement, a classically catchy and happy Christmas tune with bouncy keys and Charles Brown’s smooth vocals, will fool anyone who isn’t really paying attention. The first line, as well, puts its weight behind this small deception; Charles Brown originally described the bells as ringing “the glad, glad news,” a small incongruity that was fixed by The Eagles in 1978 when Don Henley heard those same bells slightly differently, resulting in the opening line posted above.