Christmas songs are really emo songs: the holidays are hard and emotions tend to run deep (or, maybe more likely, I’m just projecting my personal experience onto a day that most people would pump into their veins if that were option). Somber and haunting, yet hopeful, Swae Lee‘s “Christmas At Swae’s” borders on the edge of love and regret. That such an understated song was birthed from such a cheesy viral moment — Lee posted the original video to social media in 2017 — is a Christmas miracle.
The backbone of the song is the year-old chorus mixed with the melancholy keys. In a strained tenor, Lee sings, “I didn’t have you under my tree this Christmas / But I had you all over my wish list / Ho ho ho ohhhhh / You’re not under my mistletoe.” It works, partially because Lee never strays from the bit. What are the holidays without a little melodrama and lobbing half court, horny texts to your ex?
I wrote this Christmas carol imma be outside peoples houses singing this shit Merry Christmas ?? pic.twitter.com/NoXPQP9WVr
— Rae Sremmurd (@RaeSremmurd) December 26, 2017
There simply isn’t another Christmas song that will commit to a Paramore-esque lyric like, “Disappear into my nightmare / I expected you to stay there.” However, that’s what makes “Christmas at Swae’s” distinct in a marketplace so stuck in its ways. As the song hits its crescendo and Lee’s reverb-soaked vocals morph into the Ghost of Christmas Past it’s important to remember what the holidays are all about… Safeguarding your home from creepy poltergeists trying to teach you morals.