Andrea England Gets Honest About Holiday Bitter-Sweetness on New Single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas”
Christmas is a difficult time for many – if not most – people, even if that isn’t the way it’s usually portrayed by retailers and in the media. With that in mind, alt-country artist Andrea England gets refreshingly, reassuringly honest about the bitter-sweetness of the holiday in her new single “Jolly Melancholy Christmas.”
A slow, thoughtful guitar ballad, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” is introspective without being a complete tearjerker (although you’re absolutely allowed to cry). Like many people, England recently lost some people who were close to her, and the loss has tinged the holidays with sadness over the last few years.
“I like to keep it real, as much as possible, in songs and in life,” England says. “When I think of Christmas, and the holidays, the first one is always the hardest when you’ve lost someone. Every ‘first’ without them is hard, not only for me, but for all of us.”
So have a jolly melancholy Christmas
It’s the best and worst time of the year
So raise a glass to good and bad
To all we’ve lost and all we have
At least we’re all in this together
Her first Christmas song ever, “Jolly Melancholy Christmas,” came to England when a broadcaster from Nova Scotia, her hometown, asked her last year if she had a holiday song he could play during the East Coast Rising. She didn’t that year, but it sparked an idea.
“I thought, what would I write about? It’s going to be so melancholy – so ‘Jolly Melancholy Christmas’ came to mind.” Coincidentally, she had a writing session scheduled with two of her friends and long-time collaborators, Liz Rodrigues and James Bryan, and the song was borne of that session and that nurturing friendship. “They’re both very sensitive, emotionally tuned-in people,” England says.
Andrea England is an award-winning singer/songwriter; the founder, curator, and host of Toronto’s hottest songwriter series, Four Chords & the Truth; and has released two critically-acclaimed albums – Lemonade and Hope & Other Sins, the latter of which was produced by Grammy-winning producer Colin Linden. Andrea’s third release, Evidence of Love, is currently in pre-production with producer Hill Kourkoutis, and is slated for a May 2023 release.
Listen to “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” below and learn more about Andrea England via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Sure! I’m a Nova Scotia-born and raised, Toronto-based songwriter. I started out solely writing for myself, which led to the release of my first album project back in the day, Lemonade. That led to writing for and with others, and ever since, I’ve been doing that and working on my own projects – including my concert series, Four Chords and the Truth, in between. I really enjoy both the creative and business sides of the industry and being part of such a vibrant, connected community.
Tell us about the process of writing “Jolly Melancholy Christmas.”
Chuck from East Coast Rising (NS radio show) reached out to me last year and asked if I had a Christmas song for their holiday special, and although I’d written a number of Christmas songs in the past, none were for me as an artist. At the time, I thought I really should write one, but – having recently lost someone dear to me and anticipating a second pandemic Christmas in a row without family – I knew I didn’t have the heart to write anything jolly…it would have to be melancholy…so I took the title “Jolly Melancholy Christmas” into a writing session with two friends and frequent collaborators, Liz Rodrigues, and James Bryan. They could really relate, so we decided to write it together.
What’s it like being a musician in Toronto?
Toronto is a great music city: there’s an awesome venue for each stage of an artist’s career, great transit and travel options for music lovers and musicians alike, and music for every taste and from every culture.
It’s obviously been a very, very hard couple of years for live performers and venues, but with support from the Canadian music community – via organizations like the Unison Fund and Slaight Music Foundation (to name a few) – the scene is making a comeback, and there’s so much to look forward to again – especially with a new incarnation of the El Mo and the stunning revitalization of Massey Hall / the Allied Music Centre….
Who was the first Canadian artist to blow you away?
Like so many young female artists, Alanis Morisette for – it felt like – giving me permission to write brutally honest lyrics. Still, I also have to mention Sarah McLachlan for the way she writes and sings about love and loss …and for founding her own damn concert series despite people telling her that you couldn’t have more than one female artist on a bill!
You’ve been making music for while now. What’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
Be present, be vulnerable, be honest, be collaborative, and be kind: and if you’re a songwriter, register your song splits!