Christmas Music in July

Christmas in July is not the source of nearly so much music as its wintry predecessor, but there are a few songs out there.

Christmas in July, Sufjan Stevens



I’ll start with the one that we already had in our library. This singer is not my style, especially when it comes to holiday music. It’s not terrible, but it is not something I would actively choose to listen to again. The singing is just this side of whining, the edge of dissonance annoying, the lyrics thin and probably meaningless.

In this case, it seems Christmas in July is a metaphor for something being out of place, I guess? The only edge of meaning I can get out of this is annoying - anyone who alludes to the fish on a bicycle saying in the context of “missing a chance” doesn’t deserve to get the girl who eluded him.


Christmas In July, Jonathan Coulton & John Roderick



Aww, I like this one! This is a chipper little number. It’s a nice take-off on the “island holiday” tropes better known in songs like Christmas Island. The combination of holiday references and summer imagery is well done. It’s surprisingly not-snarky for a piece from Coulton.


Everyday Is Just Like Christmas, Ethel Merman in Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July



Not brilliant lyrics - it rhymes “day” with “day” - but I can get behind this piece. It's short and sweet, the kind of simple one-verse showstopper that only a voice like Ethel Merman can do justice to.


Christmas in July, Tracey Singer



This apparently obscure children’s singer/songwriter came up through a Google search, and I had no idea what to expect. Actually, for children’s music, it’s not half-bad.

It’s not exactly something I’d add to a favorite playlist, but it is an honest-to-goodness Christmas in July song, about a hypothetical second holiday. It’s bouncy and catchy with a chorus that would be easy for kids to learn.


The RNC Is Like Christmas In July, Stephen Colbert on The Late Show



Stephen Colbert’s song opening his coverage of last week’s Republican National Convention actually did a really fun job combining Christmas imagery with a song that has more in common with the Fourth of July than the summer tropes Coulton played with above.


And... that’s about it. There is an album or two with this title but I’ve already reached the end of actual songs about Christmas in July, at least that I was able to find.


Honorable Mention:

One more special shout-out to a song that may not be strictly Christmas, but as we said in our review, it’s certainly Christmas-in-July-adjacent:



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