In 1983, she travelled to Toronto to seek a musical career. In 1986, she founded a trio with bassist David Piltch and pianist Aaron Davis. Offered a record deal in 1989, the Holly Cole Trio released an EP, Christmas Blues, that year, which featured a version of The Pretenders' "2,000 Miles". This was followed by their first full album, Girl Talk, in 1990.
A succession of releases followed through the early 1990s. For example, 1991's Blame It On My Youth, covered songs by Tom Waits ("Purple Avenue", aka "Empty Pockets"), Lyle Lovett ("God Will"), includes show tunes such as "If I Were a Bell" (from Guys and Dolls) and "On the Street Where You Live" (from My Fair Lady), and even remakes "Trust In Me", from Disney's The Jungle Book, into a strikingly sultry and sinister song of seduction and death. Also recorded in this period was "Alison", a reinterpretation of Elvis Costello's original.
Following 1993's Don't Smoke in Bed, the trio released a CD entirely of songs by Tom Waits, called Temptation. With this 1995 release, the "Trio" was dropped from the group's name.
Cole next went into a two-album flirtation with pop music, perhaps keeping with the "diva" fad of the late 90s. These albums, Dark Dear Heart (1997) and Romantically Helpless (2000) veered further from jazz by introducing pop elements to Cole's sound.
In 2001, she returned to the Christmas jazz roots of her first CD with Baby It's Cold Outside, which included such should-be classics as "Christmas Time is Here" (from A Charlie Brown Christmas), "Santa Baby", and the title track. Swapping cold for hot, she moved to a Summer theme in 2003's Shade, this time reinterpreting Cole Porter ("Too Darn Hot"), Irving Berlin ("Heatwave"), and The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson ("God Only Knows").
Cole's latest album, Holly Cole (originally entitled This House Is Haunted) was released in Canada in March 2007. It was released in the US in January 2008 and was followed by a US tour.
Cole tours frequently, particularly around the holiday season, in Canada. She was also a part of the 1999 Lilith Fair tour.
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Holly Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
The song "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is a heartwarming classic that is overflowing with love and longing. It is a song about a soldier who is far away from his loved ones during Christmas time, who promises that he will make it home for the holiday. The opening line "I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me" sets the tone for this song to come. It is a promise to his loved ones that he will do everything that he can to be with them for Christmas no matter how far away he is.
The lyrics also paint a vivid picture of all the things that make Christmas special. The line "Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree" perfectly captures the spirit of the season. The song then goes on to describe the soldier's yearning to be home: "Christmas Eve will find me where the love light gleams, I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams." These lines express the soldier's deep desire to be with his loved ones, and how even if he cannot physically be with them, he will be with them in his heart and mind.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be home for Christmas
Rest assured that I will return home in time for Christmas
You can count on me
You can rely on my timely arrival without any trepidation
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
I request you to arrange for the presence of snow and mistletoe and ensure that the tree is adorned with presents
Christmas Eve will find me
I will definitely be present on Christmas Eve
Where the love light gleams
I will be close to my loved ones with whom I share an unbreakable bond
If only in my dreams
Even if I am unable to make it physically, I will be there in spirit with you all and spend Christmas in my thoughts and dreams
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, GANNON & KENT MUSIC CO, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Buck Ram, Walter Kent, Kim Gannon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind