The beauty of Christmas songs, especially country Christmas songs, is that they are timeless. Some of the best country Christmas songs were released decades ago, but remain a fan favorite today.
Videos by American Songwriter
These four country Christmas songs came out in the 90s, but are still perfect for a holiday playlist today.
“It Wasn’t His Child” by Trisha Yearwood
In 1994, Trisha Yearwood released The Sweetest Gift. The record is her fourth, and her first holiday album. Included on The Sweetest Gift is “It Wasn’t His Child”. The song is written by Skip Ewing.
“It Wasn’t His Child” begins with, “He was her man and she was his wife / And late one winter night / He knelt by her as she gave birth / But it wasn’t his child, it wasn’t his child / Yet still he took him as his own / And as he watched him grow / It brought him joy / But it wasn’t his child, it wasn’t his child.”
Perhaps surprisingly, Ewing started writing “It Wasn’t His Child” on Christmas Eve, finishing it on Christmas Day.
“I thought it would be neat to write a Christmas song. It’s not something I do a lot of,” Ewing tells UPI. “I started thinking, ‘What could I say that’s different than what somebody else has already said?’ I thought, ‘Gosh, the way everything happened like that, I wonder how those people must have felt.”
Several other artists have recorded “It Wasn’t His Child”, including Tim McGraw. His version was released in 2021.
“Let There Be Peace On Earth” by Vince Gill
“Let There Be Peace On Earth” is the title track of Vince Gill’s Christmas album. Released in 1993, the song is written by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller.
An inspirational song about trying to be a peacemaker, “Let There Be Peace On Earth” says, “Let there be peace on earth / And let it begin with me / Let there be peace on earth / The peace that was meant to be / With God as our father / Brothers all are we / Let me walk with my brother / In perfect harmony.“
Gill is joined on “Let There Be Peace On Earth” by his daughter, Jenny Gill, who was just 11 years old when the record was released.
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Reba McEntire
Countless artists have released “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, a song that was first released in 1952. But if there is one version to listen to, it’s the one by Reba McEntire. McEntire’s version appears on her The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, released in 1999.
Written by Tommie Connor, the humorous song says, “Then I saw mommy tickle Santa Claus / Underneath his beard so snowy white / Oh, what a laugh it would have been / If daddy had only seen mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.”
“There’s A New Kid In Town” by Alan Jackson and Keith Whitley
Alan Jackson is joined by Keith Whitley for “There’s A New Kid In Town”. The song is on Jackson’s 1993 Honky Tonk Christmas album. Keith Whitley wrote the song with Curly Putnam and Don Cook. Whitley also joins Jackson in singing “There’s A New Kid In Town”. The record came out a little more than four years after Whitley passed away. Whitley first released the song in 1985, with Jackson using those vocals to make the song a duet.
“There’s A New Kid In Town” says, “There’s a new kid in town / And he’s lying in a manger down the road / There’s a new kid in town / But he’s just another baby I suppose / Heaven knows / There’s a new kid in town / Here in Bethlehem.”
Photo by: Margaret C. Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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