‘Gonna Sing’ – Eric Zorn

Below are the lyrics, sheet music, chord chart, video clip and .mp3 file of Mary Schmich’s 2005 Christmas song, as well as alternate lyrics better suited for public school performance and Mary’s reflections on how the song came to be.

Gonna Sing

Oh it’s Christmastime again
And we’re all a little older.
Life rushes like the wind, and the year’s already gone.
And some people that I love
Said goodbye and crossed on over,
But I’ll hold them in my heart as I sing this song.

CHORUS:
I’m gonna sing
`Til I can’t sing no more.
Can’t worry when you’re singing,
Maybe that’s what singing’s for.
Gonna sing,
And the world won’t seem so weary.
Singing songs of cheer and hope and joy and love,
Gonna sing.

Oh it’s Christmastime again
And I think about my mother,
And I think of my old friends, haven’t seen them in so long.
And each year when Christmas comes
I think about my father,
And I’ll hold him in my heart as I sing this song.

Oh it’s Christmastime again
And the world’s still full of trouble
In places that I’ve been and in ones I’ve never gone.
And there’s people I don’t know
Leading lives of hope and struggle.
And I’ll hold them in my heart as I sing this song.

(note, look below for alternate lyrics )

Video clip of Anna Jacobson in performance

mp.3 file of Anna Jacobson performing “Gonna Sing,” December 2023

Alternate lyrics to “Gonna Sing” as crafted by Oak Park Hatch Elementary School music teacher Evan Jacobson (Anna’s husband) in collaboration with Anna and Mary Schmich to remove specific references to Christmas and death:

It’s the holidays again
And we’re all a little older.
Life rushes like the wind, and the year’s already gone.
And I miss some folks I love
As the wind and snow blow colder
But I’ll hold them in my heart as I sing this song.

CHORUS:

I’m gonna sing ’til I can’t sing no more.
Can’t worry when you’re singing,
Maybe that’s what singing’s for.
Gonna sing, and the world won’t seem so weary.
Singing songs of cheer and hope and joy and love,
Gonna sing.

It’s the holidays again
And I think about my family,
I think of my old friends, haven’t seen them in so long.
And each year when these days come
I remember all the good times
And I’ll hold them in my heart as I sing this song.

It’s holidays again
And the world’s still full of trouble
In places that I’ve been and in ones I’ve never gone.
And there’s people I don’t know
Leading lives of hope and struggle.
And I’ll hold them in my heart as I sing this song.

Video of Evan Jacobson’s students in a pandemic performance of this version of “Gonna Sing.”

Here is Mary Schmich’s reflection on the song:

Nearly 20 years ago, a few days after another round of our Songs of Good Cheer holiday singalongs at the Old Town School of Folk Music, I sat down at my home piano, feeling tired and contemplative. And a song came into my head, almost fully formed.

I kept noodling at the piano and other verses came. It didn’t really rhyme, but who cared? I didn’t write it for anyone to hear, so my standards were low.

But a few months later, my nine-year-old niece, Madeleine, who even then was a better pianist than I’ve ever been, was visiting from her home in Moscow. She sat next to me on the piano bench and I played it for her. She asked if our Songs of Good Cheer band was going to perform it.

No, no, no, I said. It’s not very good.

She shook her head and said, “When you sang about your mother, I felt something. I think people will like that line about thinking about your mother.”

She told me I should take it to the band. So I did. I was embarrassed. A couple of people—notably Gail Tyler and Steve Rosen—liked it and said, heck, let’s try it.

So we did. Chris Walz sang it in the show the first time and suddenly, whoa, there was a song. A real song.

We’ve done it every year since.