#23 The Pretenders - 2000 Miles

(Winter/Christmas playlist, #2)

Album: Learning to Crawl (1983)

Lyrics excerpt:
In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream
You appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmas time

Reasons to love this song:
For me it is one of the two best non-religious Christmas songs (the other one being The Pogues' Fairytale of New York). It perfectly captures the melancholy feeling of separation from a loved one as Christmas is approaching (regardless of whether the loved one is physically far away or even dead -- the song is said to be inspired by the 1982 death of The Pretenders' guitarist James Honeyman-Scott.
2000 Miles was used in the series Beverly Hills, 90210, in a scene in which the character Steve Sanders leaves to search for his real mother. I remember that, even though I didn't like the series very much and I thought Steve was an unsympathetic character, the song gave poignancy to the scene and almost made me cry.

Link to Amazon preview:
2000 Miles

YouTube link:
A live performance from 1995:

#22 Thea Gilmore: Sol Invictus

(Winter/Christmas playlist, #1)

Album: Strange Communion (2009)

Lyrics excerpt:
Come the dawn, come the call

Come, the beating air
Chill the night, soldier light
We'll be dancing there
And rise up, rise up
Day stretching weary wings

Reasons to love this song:
Sol Invictus is the opening song of The Gilmore's excellent Christmas album. In contrast to most of the other songs, which are much more upbeat, Sol Invictus is an a capella choral prayer to the sun and the day. Sol Invictus was the late Roman sun god, celebrated on December 25th; while listening to this song, I can easily imagine Thea Gilmore as his priestess, leading the believers in prayer while waiting for the sun to rise after the coldest night of the year. This is a truly heartfelt, spiritual song about longing for light.

Link to Amazon preview:
Sol Invictus