Grown-Up Christmas List

CAIN's version of “Grown-Up Christmas List” is a gentle ballad written as a letter from an adult to Santa. The singer recalls sitting on his knee and writing with childhood fantasies, then admits that though grown, the heart still dreams and still needs help.

The wish list is not for the singer. It asks that no lives be torn apart, that wars never start, that time heal all hearts, that everyone have a friend, that right always win and that love never end. The second verse recalls how children believed the best sight was something wrapped beneath the tree, then says Heaven only knows that packages and bows can never heal a hurting human soul. The closing lines reach for the truth hidden behind the innocence of youth and repeat the wish for the whole world. CAIN's close harmony and soft piano arrangement give the standard a church-friendly warmth, and the choice to sing it in a Christian setting turns the wish into something close to a prayer. It fits a candlelight service, a family gathering or a quiet moment in December when the news is heavy and a listener wants to hope for peace rather than gifts.

Nations beating swords into plowshares is Isaiah 2:4. Peace on earth is Luke 2:14, and the peace Christ gives is John 14:27.