A few days before Christmas 2020, Alex Auldsmith and his flatmates all tested positive for Coronavirus. This meant they spent the festive period all bottled up in their flat together. In a state of sentimental delirium Alex wrote these two songs in quick succession. A duo of songs soaked in mulled wine; looking bleary eyed at family photographs and sang to a family made of friends.
Red, Green and Gold is unashamedly a Christmas song, written without irony but with a keen sense of the somewhat questionable canon that it belongs to. Sister Sarah Saint of the Small is inspired by Alex’s sister and the amazing stories she brings back from her shifts working for the SSPCA. The songs profits will go to the SSPCA. Both songs were recorded by Alex at New Teeth HQ.
lyrics
The colours are red, green and gold.
The kitchen is warm though the outside is cold.
No other year has been like this year before.
Outside there’s silence; frost in the air.
The harbour is empty only waves alone out there.
Now that we’re all bottled up here in our home
Batten down the hatches of your heart
Cos this year’s taking its toll.
So as we carry hope, hope through the snow and the frost, we know
That the bells ring out nightly that all is not lost, no.
That bottle’s been opened and we’re digging in
Take cheer in each other as the movie begins.
We’re without some who love us but their warmth lives within.
And I’ll raise up this glass of warm winter wine.
I’m glad for the ones I hold dear in my life
And I have a few here with me for whom I’d gladly die.
So as we laugh and cry make a toast to the gathering night and know
That despite the cold and struggle our lights are a glow
Red green and gold.
credits
from Red Green & Gold // Sister Sarah Saint of the Small,
released December 13, 2021
Songs by Alex Auldsmith
Bass : Ruairidh Morrison
Keys : Michael Davidson
Strings : Peter Menzies
Everything else : Alex Auldsmith
Recorded by Alex Auldsmith @ New Teeth Leith HQ
Mixed and Mastered by Liam Narrie
Cover Photo : Mary Auldsmith
Cover layout : Alex Auldsmith
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