After a week of kvetching and making fun of holiday music, I thought it would be nice to cap it off with what is probably my favourite contemporary holiday song.
I had been a fan of Meryn Cadell for a while, (“The Sweater,” anyone?) but this song just took the cake for me. I don’t remember where I was when I first heard “The Cat Carol,” but I do remember how I felt.
Here was a song that told of selflessness, a bittersweet salve for the treacle that falls into our ears during this time of year.
Written by Bruce Evans, the song tells the story of a lonely mouse who is lost in the cold during a winter storm. A cat finds the mouse and tells him not to be afraid, that because it is Christmas Eve, “on this freezing night we both need a friend” and invites the mouse to “stay by my side.”
Just like some people look forward to Christmas and certain songs or albums that they will listen to, I can’t have Christmas without hearing this song. In the midst of mass consumerism, sentimental schlock on television and horrible versions of Christmas classics, I look forward the refuge this song affords at this time of year.
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