Sunday, December 19, 2010

Top Christmas Songs: Number Four–Little Drummer Boy

This song was written by Katherine Davis in the early 1940’s(Boughton, Harrison Charles 1977). She is a Missourian, so that may be another reason why I love this song. The rendition I love is by a band that I listened to A LOT beginning in high school.  They released this as a four song EP in 1995. I listened to them play this song over and over and started to wonder exactly what the song was saying. It is a perfect song for Christmas. It references a boy who wanted to buy a newborn baby in a manger a gift; however, he could not afford it. So, with the new mother’s approval, the little boy played his drum for the baby. The thoughtfulness of it is almost overwhelming to me. A young boy wanted to celebrate the birth of our Savior and do something for him and all he could afford is to play his drum. The message of the song seems to be not what we are giving to others, but the intention behind it. Do we give gifts to others so we can have people be thanking us or is it enough to see the joy on someone’s face when they open that present or open that card at a time they really need it?

Jars of Clay–Little Drummer Boy

No comments:

Post a Comment