"White Wine in the Sun" - Tim Minchin cover by Ted

[Ted]

White Wine in the Sun

Composer: Tim Minchin
Nylon string bamboo "lood" guitar, SY-1 guitar synthesizer (triggered by a Strat), vocals: Ted

I really like Christmas.
It's sentimental I know, but I just really like it.
I'm, I'm hardly religious.
I'd rather dance with the devil than Desmond Tutu to be honest.

And yes I have all of the usual objections to consumerism
To the commercialisation of an ancient religion,
To the westernisation of a dead Palestinian
Press-ganged into selling PlayStations and beer
But I still really like it.

I'm looking forward to Christmas
Though I'm not expecting a visit from Jesus.
I'll be seeing my dad,
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum.
They'll be drinking white wine in the sun.

I don't go in for ancient wisdom.
I don't believe just 'cause ideas are tenacious it means that they're worthy
I get freaked out by churches.
Some of the hymns that they sing have nice chords but the lyrics are dodgy.

And yes I have all of the usual objections
To the miseducation of children who in tax-exempt institutions
Are taught to externalise blame,
And to feel ashamed,
And to judge things as plain right or wrong.
But I quite like the songs.

I'm not expecting big presents.
The old combination of socks, jocks and chocolates is just fine by me.
Cause I'll be seeing my dad,
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum.
They'll be drinking white wine in the sun.

And you my baby girl,
My jet-lagged infant daughter,
You'll be handed round the room
Like a puppy at a primary school
And you won't understand,
But you will learn some day
That wherever you are and whatever you face,
These are the people who'll make you feel safe in this world,
My sweet blue-eyed girl

And if my baby girl
When you're twenty-one or thirty-one,
And Christmas comes around
And you find yourself nine thousand miles from home
You'll know whatever comes
Your brothers and sisters, and me and your mum
Will be waiting for you in the sun,
Drinking white wine in the sun,
Darling, when Christmas comes,
We'll be waiting for you in the sun
Waiting

I really like Christmas
It's sentimental I know.

If the admins will approve it, this is my Yule Fest 2024 submission. I applied for clemency on New Years Eve. I could have finished this song before midnight on the 31st and made the deadline, but to do so would have meant neglecting my sweet daughter with whom I was marking the occasion. (That would have been quite ironic given the sentiments expressed in bridge of this song.)

Merry Christmas to the Eastern Orthodox Christians on this site, for whom today is December 23. This song is right on time.

Edit: Thanks for the clemency, Admins!

[BerryPatch]

Great track Ted! I've never heard the original but you really sell the poignant lyrics with your voice. Nice stripped back arrangement, with some nice synth additions to fill things out.

[StephenM]

I don't know the original.

But hearing you sing is making me happy!
really nice song.  well played, well recorded.
yeah!

I love Christmas too... and for all the reasons mentioned plus most of the ones not so liked...

[Jean Pierre]

"To the westernisation of a dead Palestinian "

I obviously didn't understand the meaning of the lyrics and this sentence intrigued me
So I translated it (for what it's worth)
...... and there you have it, a surprising and original Noel song that gets away from the usual Noel clichés.

[chapperz66]

Brilliant Ted.  Really enjoyed this.

I'm a bit of a Tim Minchin fan although I had missed this one.

[Mike_S]

Sounds great right from the off. Balance of vocal and guitar is spot on.

I love the words and you sing them very well Ted. Some really powerful lines in there and some great contrast too of negative and positive. Heavy stuff... excellent

Mike

[Hilary]

Tis a thing of beauty and Tim Minchin is a legend!

[SE]

Wow this is better that a Christmas song, got a Dylan vibe.
Family is way better than anything!

[Pete C]

I don't know the original but you've done a great vocal performance and lovely sounding guitar.

Pete

[StephenM]

I still have my Christmas lights up and on... we got a bit of storm... and the snow came.. and so I have another excuse to leave them up..

I just love the whole idea of Christmas...

I really dig this song.... great cover Ted.