Sometimes a great title is just too good to resist.* In this case, my wife and I drove past a billboard that mentioned Stollen, the German answer to fruitcake, and I immediately knew I was destined to compose a jazz Christmas song entitled, “Stollen Moments.”
This destiny was fulfilled a few days later when I produced this song. Like “Stolen Moments,” the jazz standard to which it pays tribute, my song begins with a four-chord riff. (But my song is in C major, rather than C minor–Christmas is supposed to be a happy time!)
A further confirmation that I was destined to write “Stollen Moments” was a shopping trip to Aldi on a recent vacation in Freiburg, Germany. As you can see in this picture, I encountered genuine German Stollen, sold in the days leading up to Christmas. Those luscious little loaves fairly cried out to me, “Compose us a theme song!”
Oh, the house is quiet, all the kids in bed,
wondering what the morn may bring.
So we’re cuddled here, eating Santa’s snack
in the glow of the Christmas tree.
The only gift on my Christmas list,
the only present that I need
are these times with you– they’re my wish come true
and my only Christmas dream.
All these Stollen moments with you
make my Christmas dreams come true.
Every season is grand, you and me, hand in hand.
Oh, how I love these Stollen moments with you.
*See, for example, “Night and DayQuil.”
