Song - Christmas Time Is Here Again

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

Oh jingle bells, jingle bells, the time is here again!

The nights grow cold, the lights go up, the music never ends!

We’ve put up all our Christmas trees, we’re eating gingerbread!

But don’t forget our Lord, our God, who rose up from the dead!

[Verse 2]

The angels did announce Him to shepherds and their flock,

all in good time He came to Earth, the Scriptures set the clock.

The wise men brought their gifts: Gold, frankincense, and myrrh,

because as it was foretold, the virgin did give birth!

[Bridge]

Hooooaooo, Ho oh oh oooooh!

[Chorus]

Christmas time is here again, God’s people celebrate,

the God who came to save us, and open Heaven’s gate!

Now the Scrooge inside each one of us can receive His grace,

so Church arise, and sing and dance, rejoice in Jesus’ name!

[Verse 3]

Mary, she is blessed indeed, the Lord bestowed His grace!

He chose her for a special role within His time and place.

The Child she carried in her womb now carries you and me,

so glory to the newborn King, who came to set us free!

[Verse 4]

Now even good ol' Krampus, that shadow in the snow,

can never steal the joy we have in Him, who beat our foe.

Now the grave has lost its victory, and death has lost its sting.

Thanks to the boy in the manger, our eternal King.

[Bridge]

Hooooaooo, Ho oh oh oooooh!

[Chorus]

Christmas time is here again, God’s people celebrate,

the God who came to save us and open Heaven’s gate!

Now the Grinch inside each one of us feels his heart start to grow,

thanks to God's Holy Baby Boy, whom Santa Claus did know.

[Bridge]

Hoooooo! Ho ho ho! Hooooo ho ho hoooooo!

[Final Chorus]

So God rest ye merry gentlemen, God rest ye ladies too!

Let's sing our praises to the Lord who walked out of the tomb!

Our sins have been forgiven, we walk by Jesus' light!

So let us come to worship Him on this ho ho holy night!

Background

Personally, I'm not a huge Christmas fan. One of the things I particularly dislike about it is the music. It's so bad, there are even memes about how bad it is. One such meme stuck with me. I don't remember the exact words, but the general premise was "if you don't like Christmas music playing before Thanksgiving, write Thanksgiving songs". So, first of all, I did. Starting with "Thankful That Kamala Didn't Win" in 2024, I moved on to "Holy Baby Boy" in 2025.

But even with these two songs, one of which will fall out of date very quickly, Thanksgiving is a single day. Christmas is a whole season. A season filled with terrible music that will not only hound me from November to January, but will even inexplicably appear in my head even in the middle of August.

So, I wanted to go further. I wanted to write Christmas songs I don't utterly despise. This resulted in three other songs: "The Announcement", "Christmas Isn't Pagan", and "The Savior That Santa Claus Knew". To round these off, I wanted to create the "ultimate" Christmas worship song. Obviously, I knew this was never going to happen. If I get so much as 10 views on this post, that will be a "Christmas miracle". But nothing says I can't have fun trying.

And try I did, ultimately culminating in an epic... poem. The original "song" just didn't read like a song, either in my head, or in the Mozart AI app. I kept the poem, and I'll publish it at the end of this article, but ultimately, I gave up in frustration.

However, as I struggled to sleep one night, a tune came to my mind, and it quickly morphed into the lyrics in verse 1. So I decided to try again. As you can see, I kept some aspects of the original poem, but I constructed a much more "singable" version that wouldn't trip the app up.

The majority of the song references the few Christmas traditions I actually like, but the first two verses set the stage with my frustration. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, the time is here again. The nights grow cold, the lights go up, the music never ends." The tune certainly does not convey it, but the wording betrays my ire. "Jingle bells" is far from my favorite tune, I find the cold intolerable, and as I've stated, I detest most Christmas music. I even despise the lights, though mainly because of the painful memories they bring up. But even in verse 1, having vented my annoyance, I slowly transition the song towards its intended focus: Taking the traditions of Christmas, and pointing them back to Christ.

Verse 2 ditches the human tradition and gets right to the Biblical truth. It alludes to the shepherds, the wise men, and the virgin birth. But I also wanted to tighten it. Most people know the "story" of the Nativity, but I wanted to emphasise the theological element. With lines like "the Scriptures set the clock" and "as it was foretold", I wanted to subtly, yet firmly point out that this is more than a mere story, like the others referenced in the song. These things are real historical events, promised before they actually occurred, and fulfilled to the jot and tittle.

Because I intend this to be the "ultimate" Christmas worship song, at least in the Bible Brain niche, I also included subtle nods to my previous materials. This becomes visible in the first chorus, wherein the second line is "the God who came to save us, and open Heaven’s gate!" This line is almost a word for word re-use of a line from "Glory to Christ" (which is not due to be published until January 5th 2026, but its existence precedes this song). The same song contains the theme of singing, dancing, and giving praise to Christ, which is also present in this chorus.

One thing I've started trying to do with my music is varying the chorus, which I think gives my songs more of a "living" feel. In the first chorus, I referred to A Christmas Carol, which is my co-favorite Christmas story. The other is How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which I reference in the second chorus. I like these two stories in particular because I connect with both protagonists on a personal level. Scrooge to a lesser degree, since I'm not especially addicted to money, but both are initially hostile to Christmas, and deeply introverted, much like myself. Yet, as their stories progress, they grow as characters, ultimately being redeemed by their "enemy". As Christians, we should all resonate with this. We have likewise been redeemed by Christ, to whom we were also initially hostile. As these stories indirectly mimic the Gospel, it seemed appropriate to use them this way in the song.

The first chorus also alludes to the hymn "O Church Arise", which holds nostalgic value for me, as it's one of the first hymns I learned when I first came to faith. While it's not a Christmas song, it's still very precious to me, and so I was pleased to be able to work it in.

I was somewhat sneaky with verse 3, as it's directly Biblical, but in a carefully selected way. As an apologist, I regularly deal with Roman Catholic theology, which is heavily saturated in Marian idolatry. In particular, Luke 1:48 is often taken as evidence for Catholic Mariolatry. But in the song, in which I say "now Mary, she is blessed indeed", I use the verse correctly. I point to the blessing she received, rather than the "blessing" Catholics bestow upon her. Yet, this is so subtle that Catholics, hearing the song for the first time, probably won't notice it. And of course, following this, I once again point from her to Christ.

Verse 4 is perhaps the riskiest verse in the song. Personally, the more judgemental people are, the less I care about whatever judgement they may deliver. But Krampus could potentially earn that judgement. In standard lore, Krampus is a scary demonic figure who drags children to Hell, which obviously isn't worth celebrating. Thus, his inclusion may get me in trouble with people who have strong views on the character. However, as Krampus is a public domain character, very little about him is set in stone. I'm particularly fond of the version that appears in the videogame "Don't Starve". In the game, if the player is "naughty" enough, Krampus might show up with a magical bag and pillage their base. This is perhaps the most obvious version of the myth to attach to this verse, as it speaks about how Krampus "can never steal" the joy we have in Christ.

As previously noted, the second chorus references the Grinch, using a formerly hostile figure to point back to the redemption we have in Christ. But whereas the first chorus references one of my favorite hymns, the second references two of my own songs: "Holy Baby Boy" (which is more of a Thanksgiving song, designed to also be singable throughout the year), and "The Savior That Santa Claus Knew".

If you've read the lyrics, you've also probably noticed the bridge sounds a bit like a reference to Santa. This, of course, is deliberate. Being such a prominent Christmas myth, Santa has unfortunately drawn much attention away from Christ and onto himself. However, the historical foundation for the myth of Santa Claus is a man named Nicholas of Myra, a bishop, whose charitable acts were heavily motivated by his Christian faith. Initially, I had desired to give him a more prominent role within the song, as I believe he is the most useful element for putting the Christ back in Christmas. I especially love the story of how he punched Arius at the Council of Nicaea. However, as I've already referenced this event in two previous songs, and in the process discovered that it may not have happened historically, I decided to let him be.

The final chorus contains a reference to two other hymns. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is, without contest, my favorite Christmas carol, and so working it into my "ultimate Christmas worship song" just seemed essential. The "ho ho holy night" thing, admittedly, was ChatGPT's idea, but what a closing line... I don't know if it's a coincidence, or if it genuinely intended to reference the carol "Oh Holy Night", but I just had to keep it.

As tends to happen when generating songs with Mozart AI (which I can do in stacks of 6 at a time), I did get more than one version I actually liked. On the advice of a friend (who loves Christmas significantly more than I do), I chose the slower, more peaceful version as the main version. However, I will also publish the "party version" here:

The poem

[Verse 1]

The shepherds lift their eyes up high,

as twinkling stars do shine.

“A Child is born,” the angels cry,

“The Savior has arrived!”

The wise men kneel with gifts in hand,

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

God comes down to His holy land,

The virgin did give birth.

[Verse 2]

Old Santa Claus, that humble man,

Knew Father, Spirit, Son.

For the truth he took his stand,

for Godhead, three in one.

He’d guard that flame with zeal alight,

Though myths obscure the flame

His legend still reflects the light,

of Jesus' Holy Name.

[Verse 3]

A miser’s chain was split in two,

That’s how the story goes.

But grace can melt the coldest heart,

And mercy overflows.

The Scrooge within each one of us,

When Heaven’s love breaks through,

can be redeemed eternally,

by Christ, we're made anew.

[Verse 4]

And once a green man's shrunken heart

found love it could not steal.

The Grinch, a supreme work of art,

to which we can appeal.

The Christmas gift did not come down

in Santa's famous sleigh,

but from the Lord who left His crown

for a manger filled with hay.

[Verse 5]

Even Krampus cannot steal our joy,

the grave has lost its sting.

Death itself cannot destroy

the glory of our King.

Now peace may reign forevermore,

between our God and man.

He will remember nevermore,

the sins done by our hand.

[Verse 6]

Now Mary, she is blessed indeed,

so says this generation.

She bore the One who met our need,

and made propitiation.

The One she bore now bears us all,

her Savior, yours and mine.

The Gospel comes as a sweet call,

our destiny defined.

[Final verse]

So God rest ye, merry gentlemen!

God rest ye ladies too!

Your sins have been forgotten,

the stone rolled from the tomb!

O Holy Child, the nations sing,

thanks for Your holy light!

We worship You, our risen King,

On this ho ho holy night!

AI usage

This song was produced using Mozart AI.