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A Christmas Hymn

by Tim Thompson

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about

I wrote this song a couple of years ago in the middle of perhaps one of the least peaceful periods of my life. It was either Christmas Eve or Christmas day. I was sat by myself in my apartment, and I thought maybe I should write something. I struggled through a few lines until I reached: "Peace on earth... in the end." The way that line came out of me: breathless and exhausted and almost (but not quite) hopeless... When I sang that line I knew I had a song. The rest came easy. All I had to do was write it down.

This past week, while I was looking through photos, I saw that soldier and I knew that was the one. It immediately took me back to that moment: I imagined that soldier sat beside the road somewhere far away and alone. Sat to rest beside the final resting place of an unknown (or perhaps known) brother. It's that time of year when far away and alone seems ever so terribly the wrong place to be. A prayer begins. A prayer from the distant memory of a Christmas Mass: "Peace on earth," and then a pause...

A pause which seems to sigh deeply and to ask "But how? When? And will I even live to see it?!"

And, finally, standing up, dusting off, picking up the rifle and kit and JUST loosening his grip on doubt, he walks on:

"...In the end." All the hope of Christmas is there. And all the weight of it is too.

"Between the now and the not yet."

And so, finally here it is.

I was late getting around to this and I had to call in a few favours; but thanks to my great and powerful friends Kevin Clay (with whom most of you will be familiar) and Will Duncan (with whom I hope you will soon familiarize yourself) and others we made it across the finish line.

I hope this song finds you well. And if it doesn't find you as well as you might be, then I hope it in some way helps to lift the weight and nourish a seed of hope somewhere within you. Hope for peace somehow, somewhere... in the end.

God Bless you, and Merry Christmas, my good friends!

lyrics

Let creation make it known
Unto us a child is born
His name is called Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel

Let the choir of heaven sing
Adoration to The King
Peace on earth, good will to men
Peace on earth... in the end

Make the hallelujah loud
Love has come
Make the hallelujah loud
Love has come to rescue the lost
Love has come to rescue the lost

Let creation make it known
Unto us a child is born
His name is called Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel

Let the choir of heaven sing
Adoration to The King
Peace on earth, good will to men
Peace on earth... in the end

Make the hallelujah loud
Love has come
Make the hallelujah loud
Love has come to rescue the lost
Love has come to rescue the lost

Angels sing
Shepherds bow
Now comes The King
His name is called Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel

Make the hallelujah loud
Love has come
Make the hallelujah loud
Love has come to rescue the lost
Love has come to rescue the lost

credits

released December 24, 2022
Vocals/Guitars -- Tim Thompson
Bass/Drums/Synths -- Kevin Clay
Piano -- Will Duncan

Produced by Kevin Clay and Tim Thompson
Recorded by Kevin Clay and Tim Thompson
Mixed and Mastered by Kevin Clay
Additional Mastering by Steven Patrick Wilson

Cover art by Stijn Swinnen and Daniella Blackford

Written by Tim Thompson

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Tim Thompson Savannah, Georgia

Tim Thompson is an alternative singer/songwriter now based in Savannah, Georgia.

Having released a collection of home recordings in 2021, he returned to the studio with producer Kevin Clay earlier this year to begin recording new material. With his new band, Tim Thompson and Mass Formation, he continues to perform songs about love, politics and rock and roll at the end of the world as we know it. ... more

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