Mistletoe and Holly

Swinging with the confident ease of a man who has turned pleasure into an art form, Sinatra's reading of this minor holiday standard demonstrates how a great interpreter can elevate material through sheer presence. The arrangement is brisk and playful — light brass, a rhythm section walking with purpose, an overall feeling of someone heading somewhere specifically to have a good time. His vocal is at its most conversational here, the lyrics' catalog of holiday pleasures delivered with the warmth of shared secrets rather than performed enthusiasm. Mistletoe, holly, overeating, caroling in the cold — the song's subject matter is deliberately slight, an accumulation of cozy particulars rather than any emotional statement, and Sinatra clearly delights in finding the character within that lightness. What he communicates, ultimately, is a philosophy of presence: that full enjoyment of a given moment is itself a form of grace. It suits the gathering before the gathering properly begins, when the first drinks are being poured and the evening is all potential.