Going outside, shoveling snow in the driveway, driveway
Taking our shoes, riding a sled down the hillside, hillside
Can you say what you want? Can you say what you want to be?
Can you be what you want? Can you be what you want?

Our father yells, throwing the gifts in the wood stove, wood stove
My sister runs away, taking her books to the schoolyard, schoolyard
In time the snow will rise, in time the snow will rise
In time the Lord will rise, in time the Lord will rise

Silent night, holy night
Silent night, nothing feels right



Lyrics submitted by tiredgorilla

That Was the Worst Christmas Ever! Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

That Was the Worst Christmas Ever! song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

23 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is fucking AMAZING. captures every feeling i have about coming home for xmas (mainly just the feel of the song, not just the lyrics). reminds me of many days past when it snowed and school would get cancelled.

    i think it's "nothing feels right" for the last tline...

    special 3lendon December 29, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    The whole series of christmas albums is fucking beautiful. I wish we could listen to this at work instead of the christmas bullshit on the radio.

    That said, I think this song is pretty clear. His family had a big fight on christmas day, his father burned their gifts and his sister ran away from home. "in time the snow will rise" is about just looking forward to spring and knowing that every family has problems and they'll be ok. From hearing him talk about his childhood at the show, it sounded like he had a pretty good family life, so I don't get the impression that this christmas was typical. Especially the exclamation point in the title, it gives the impression that they can look back on it and laugh about it.

    deliriumtriggeron January 05, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Does anyone know what album this song is off of? I never knew Sufjan did a song like this.

    Raving Lunaticon March 02, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's from his series "songs for christmas" vol I & II

    tiredgorillaon March 09, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    anyone knows of it is released on cd?

    KingJelleon December 09, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i know that you can get these christmas songs off of many mp3 blogs. i guess start google-ing away.

    knittingon December 13, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    just buy the boxed set. it has all sorts of christmas goodies!! theres an essay in it that deals specifically with this song, and his feelings about christmas in general. his dad would start taking on extra jobs, joining clubs, etc. to try to get away from the house during the christmas season. his mom would spend loads of money they didnt have to try to make christmas perfect, and when she got too stressed out she would through a random gift in the woodstove to calm herself down or something. i think he said he started to hate christmas after all this, being stuck at home with his family and all this shit going on. and he decided not to celebrate it anymore. and writing these christmas songs was his way of getting back in touch with 'That Creepy Christmas Feeling'. Thats my summary. but you should really read it! :)

    fursoftasfuron December 22, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    to the person who was saying the meaning of this song- i don't think the father literally burnt the gifts...i think it's a metaphor

    noone1111111111111111111on December 24, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    also, as of december 24th 2006 it is the free download of the week on itunes

    noone1111111111111111111on December 24, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    such an awsome song.

    SnwBorder52on February 09, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.