A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn't So)

This is my favorite song. Period. No one I know (even those that love the flaming lips) even like it a little.

Wayne Coyne has the unique ability to say whatever he feels at anytime he wants and it serves to be absolutely endearing and genuine. If he didn't, this song would end up sounding like something crooned by a hack in a starbucks.

What's great about this song is that it reflects what it's like to be someone as optimistic as Coyne, it strikes this perfect balance between extreme happiness at knowing what goodness there is in the world and indescribable sadness at knowing how much we're failing to live up to our potential as human beings to create a world that is as beautiful as possible.

It's strange that this song is about the holiday season, because one of the things I've always liked about the Lips is that they seem pretty atheistic. But this 'A Change at Christmas' isn't religious, it's about the secular aspects of the holiday season. The time of year when the world is at its coldest and bleakest, we decorate things and celebrate humanity with those closest to us. Everyone is nicer to each other around Christmas time, it's the "holiday spirit". We give to charities and have parties and show everyone how much we love them. Wayne is saying that this is "mankind's truest potential", imploring us to think about how much better the world would be if we could just stop time there, maintain that kind of spirit our whole lives. Every year he thinks that the change is a real, permanent one, and every year he is let down and emotionally crushed that it only lasts for one shining moment, and we just go back to the way we were.

The last verse is the most angry, as Wayne speaks with a cynical friend of his. He has a dire view of humanity and says that evil is human nature and there's nothing we can do about it, that's just the way we are. And that genuine voice says in the saddest tone it can muster, "say it isn't so."

I know that I just spent a couple of paragraphs "explaining" a very obvious song, but it means a lot to me. I don't usually respond to sappy songs, they seem unnatural. I usually prefer songs that are kind of cynical or satirical towards gooey "let's all love one another" sentiments, but this song is truly heartbreaking and has made me cry like only the Flips can.