The song is epic in its scope. It begins with such a haunting tone, (not dissimilar to Riders on the Storm) imparting the urgent message that Christmas is not just for adults. The fact that there truly are many children of the world not experiencing Christmas cheer establishes the first half of the duality Heidecker feels is present in December among carolers. They often focus too much on door-to-door, instead of the children without homes.
The song soon becomes explosive with optimism and mirth, however, when explaining his feelings about how important children are. You can practically feel the awe and wonder and stupor that a child experiences when gazing upon huge, garish Christmas light decorations during the "Christmas lights are shining through the nighttime" stanza, which becomes less controlled, lyrically, ("Children lights are shining on the children") as it progresses from being clear and concise to almost gibberish ("Shiny, shiny, shiny, like a choo-choo"). This is the second half of the duality; when children are given a great Christmas experience you're so overjoyed that you temporarily forget about the ones who are not present and are not fortunate enough to be treated to such a display. This dark thought is what we are left with in the final stanza ("We are caroling without the children and that aint christmas to me""
The song is epic in its scope. It begins with such a haunting tone, (not dissimilar to Riders on the Storm) imparting the urgent message that Christmas is not just for adults. The fact that there truly are many children of the world not experiencing Christmas cheer establishes the first half of the duality Heidecker feels is present in December among carolers. They often focus too much on door-to-door, instead of the children without homes. The song soon becomes explosive with optimism and mirth, however, when explaining his feelings about how important children are. You can practically feel the awe and wonder and stupor that a child experiences when gazing upon huge, garish Christmas light decorations during the "Christmas lights are shining through the nighttime" stanza, which becomes less controlled, lyrically, ("Children lights are shining on the children") as it progresses from being clear and concise to almost gibberish ("Shiny, shiny, shiny, like a choo-choo"). This is the second half of the duality; when children are given a great Christmas experience you're so overjoyed that you temporarily forget about the ones who are not present and are not fortunate enough to be treated to such a display. This dark thought is what we are left with in the final stanza ("We are caroling without the children and that aint christmas to me""