All The Way Up

Brandon Heath, “The Night Before Christmas”

“The Night Before Christmas” is a beautiful song that leaves us wishing for a Brandon Heath Christmas album- perhaps maybe next year. I absolutely love original Christmas songs. “Silent Night,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” etc. are all great and wonderful, but tend to get old. That’s why I like original songs like Third Day’s “Christmas Like a Child,” or Alan Jackson’s “Let it Be Christmas.” Brandon Heath’s addition to this category of Christmas songs absolutely makes an impact. “The Night Before Christmas” is not really about Jesus being born in a manger, or coming home and being with family, or sleighs and jingle bells, but something far more profound. Its title brings back memories of the childhood story of “all through the house, not a creature was stirring; not even a mouse,” so upon hearing the song for the first time, many listeners will be surprised at the nature of the song. As Heath says himself, it captures “the tension of that holy night,” and what the world was like before it had no savior. The lyrics “We were so lost on earth/No peace, no worth/No way to escape/In fear, no faith/No hope, no grace , and no light/But that was the night before Christmas” from the first verse capture the essence of the song beautifully. Credit for writing the song goes to Regie Hamm, who has written for many popular acts including Lonestar, David Cook (2008’s chart-topper, “The Time of My Life”), Clay Crosse (remember him? from the 90s?), Bob Carlisle, and Clay Aiken. You can download it for a limited time for free at Amazon MP3.