For a while now, Ellie Goulding has been the unsung heroine of an unacknowledged Christmas classic in the seasonal canon. That’s right, 2011’s “Lights,” from Goulding’s 2010 debut album of the same name, has all the hallmarks of a true Xmas beacon. Apart from being the ideal song to play over any video or photo slideshow of various Christmas lights captured about town, the single is a straightforward nod to, that’s right, not being able to sleep without the lights on. And who can better identify with such a sentiment than children?—the very demographic that Christmas is most tailored toward (those overly catered to bastards).
The very demographic that also becomes most jaded when revelations about the magic of Christmas being nothing more than phony baloney come to light. Accordingly, the lyrics Goulding sings seem to almost perfectly mirror that moment between bona fide wonder and innocence lost. That childlike fear of the dark also going hand in hand with the period in one’s enfance when they still actually believe in entities like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. The chorus in particular paints the picture of someone still hopeful as Goulding croons, “You show the lights that stop me turn to stone/You shine it when I’m alone/And so I tell myself that I’ll be strong/And dreaming when they’re gone/‘Cause they’re callin’, callin’, callin’ me home.” Whoever “they” are (angels, family members, friends, etc.) and whatever “home” is (“the other side,” Dreamland, general unconsciousness, etc.), it sounds rather ominous.
However, there’s no denying that the comfort of lights, whether Christmas ones reflected through the snow-frosted window or even just garden-variety hall lights to keep total darkness from sinking into one’s bedroom, is the primary focus of the song. Then again, other more poetical interpretations of the single posit that this is an overt “love letter” to suicide and surrendering to the darkness (despite the track being called “Lights”). In which case, that would still make it a Christmas classic as we all know Xmas is the time of year when people become especially prone to “X’ing” themselves out (see: Mixed Nuts and the suicide prevention hotline it centers on). This would tend to add up based on the lines, “And I’m not sleepin’ now/The dark is too hard to beat/And I’m not keepin’ up/The strength I need to push me.” A.k.a. push one to keep going at all during these dark times wherein no amount of light let in can seem to overcome the blackness. And what part of the year is that ever more evident than during the Christmas season?
The accompanying video, directed by Sophie Muller, even has its fair share of Christmas-themed light aesthetics—when they’re not decidedly rave-oriented. There are also several repeat scenes of Goulding encircled by graphics of houses (that initially look like the sort of Chinese symbols a white girl might gravitate toward). In the spirit of the blue house icon that appears in the Home Alone font. And what do houses (especially middle-class ones in neighborhoods like the McCallisters’) always have on them during Christmas? Lights, bien sûr. That old school telephones also appear as an alternating icon between the houses even lends a certain “E.T., phone home” quality. And yes, E.T. essentially drove most of the Christmas merchandise sold in 1982, despite being released in summer (when most corporations start gearing up behind-the-scenes for Christmas anyway).
Goulding herself could drive as much business as she wanted toward the purchase of Christmas lights should she ever choose to use this song for such advertising purposes. And, funnily enough, the same year the song was reissued on a beefed-up version of the album, called Bright Lights, it was intended to be the first single from it, but instead, her cover of Elton John’s “Your Song” would end up taking its place after being enlisted for the John Lewis Christmas advert—so go figure. She’s just a pop singer with a lot of Christmas spirit inherently imbued into her non-denominational tracks.
As for the other simple visuals of the “Lights” video, with Goulding playing the drums (ahem, “Little Drummer Girl” anyone?) and banging on the tambourine (another quintessential “Christmas instrument”), it’s evident she’s trying to give Mannheim Steamroller a run for their money the entire time. And so, beyond just the obvious rationale for “Lights” being a nod to Christmas lights, there are many other “beneath the surface” reasons why this 2010 “sleeper hit” is also a Christmas sleeper hit. Much to Mariah’s dismay. But we all know “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has grown incredibly tired over the years, and not just because it’s much too straightforward for the Christmas canon. “Lights,” on the other hand, is the less apparent, less played choice as a staple of future Christmas playlists with any sense of panache.
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