Christmas Music from the Streets

By Doug Ruffin

President,

Boston Music Coalition

I love all sorts of Christmas music. The traditional Christmas Hymens, fun Christmas songs and the Jazzed up, remixed naughty ones too.  Even the Christmas songs that are really not Christmas songs at all are sung around my Christmas tree every year. You know, like, “Jingle Bells”. Did you know that, “Jingle Bells” is really about winter horse races that ran North of Boston from Medford to Malden back in the day? Listen to the words and the pace of the song. It has nothing to do with Christmas. Same thing with “Let it Snow”. It’s winter a love song.  

What ever Christmas music you like; live music has a spectacular way of drop kicking recorded music every time. (Did you catch that dig?) Live Christmas music can be as grand as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Voiced by a choir and jazzed up with a cool local band. Live Christmas music can be also heard on the streets and in the subways all over greater Boston. Street performers entertain all year long in all sorts of weather. You’ve seen and heard them. Starting this Christmas season, I hope you will join me in paying a bit more attention to street musicians. Drop some change in the guitar case whenever you can. Stop for a minute or two and listen to them. Go ahead and clap for them at the end of a song. Why not? J Offer feed back or, get to know the street musicians you see on your way to and from work.  

Good street musicians hope for donations but do not ask out loud for your help. Instead, they let the music help you decide. Christmas is busy and even challenging for some. So if you can rub two nickels together, why not drop one of those nickels, or more, in to a guitar case and help make the child of that musician enjoy a very merry Christmas.