I Am Santa's Helper
The first time I listened to “I Am Santa’s Helper,” something seemed reassuringly familiar. At 30 seconds in, a soaring vocal melody joins the droning dichotomous angst. A quick breath – pause – I’ve heard this before, but I can’t place it amongst Sufjan Stevens’ vast discography. And then it hits me; it’s not on a “disc.” Is this maybe a variation on perhaps the holy grail, quintessential Sufjan melody? The melody to be played “at the end of the world, when women finally get their piece of the pie, and all harm is eradicated, and when the lion and the lamb sleep [take naps] together, and when NFL players learn to knit and crochet….” I quickly opened YouTube and pulled up the fabled “Majesty Snowbird.” Yes, this was it!
But why here, in this song? Aside from a few brief videos and interview admissions (who doesn't use rhymezone?), Sufjan has shared very little of his creative process. I am certainly curious, but personally, I’d rather pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. However, throughout his catalog, we see examples of Sufjan growing, reimagining, experimenting, and evolving themes and melodies. But the variation and the odd juxtaposition of the “Snowbird” melody in “I Am Santa’s Helper” felt a touch different and perhaps held more meaning than the simplest explanation of experimentation.
During the first few listens of “I Am Santa’s Helper,” I was put off by the stark absence (rebuke?) of Sufjan’s familiar redemptive lens, and the confusing juxtaposition of the two vocal lines. What’s more, the main lyric declaring a binary world of “helpers” and “slaves” just felt kind of sarcastic. Where am I in this construct? Sufjan’s music almost always has a redemptive quality, and I was struggling to identify it here.
Then, upon identifying the “Snowbird” melody variation, it became satori, clear like a perfect sine wave. This is the response to the small-minded, polarized main vocal. This is the unspoken redemption soaring above the drone of our false contradictions. We are so much more than helpers or slaves (*begins to put on bike helmet with a giant silver horn, and a suit made of balloons*), we are Christmas Unicorns.
Van Wilson is a partner, father (of two young boys), friend, and aspiring musician. Following a rather mind-altering experience in the middle-aged midst of a deep Colorado winter, he realized there are those of us who are tasked with protecting and expanding certain sacred frequencies of creation and existence. The resonance we feel with the world around us speaks to this truth and to our connection and magnetism towards those who share coherence. May we all plug into this wavelength.
Shout out: I’m always looking for musical collaborators! Hit me up! Insta: @worlds_wilson