Just for a moment yesterday, I had a dilemma. I thought, "Should I play this version of 'I Saw Three Ships?' After all, the lyrics are about seeing ships on Christmas morning, and it's now early afternoon."
Then, I reasoned, "I've written about how much I welcome hearing Christmas music throughout the year. Lyrics don't dictate when I can play music for my own enjoyment. Yes, hearing in 'Silver Bells' that it will soon be Christmas Day makes less sense when it already is Christmas Day, but a good melody is a good melody--and suitable for any day of the year, if you want to hear it."
I played "I Saw Three Ships." After all, I wanted to hear it. Besides, the lyrics are in the past tense, so why not sing in the afternoon about the ships that sailed in that morning?
