"If We Make It Through December" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

and the Strangers. It was released in October 1973 as the lead single from the album '' Merle Haggard's Christmas Present'', and was the title track on a non-Christmas album four months later. In the years since its release, "If We Make It Through December" — which, in addition to its Christmas motif, also uses themes of

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

and loneliness — has become one of the trademark songs of Haggard's career.

Content

Written in 1973, it treats with Haggard's characteristically simple poetry the desperate optimism of a working-class man dealing with economic hardship. Having been laid off from his factory job just prior to the Christmas season, the man becomes depressed over his predicament during what normally should be a "''happy time of year.''" At one point, he observes that his little girl "''don't understand why Daddy can't afford no Christmas cheer.''" The chorus, "''If we make it through December/Everything's gonna be alright, I know''" expresses hope, the protagonist telling himself that hope exists if he wants to deal with "''the coldest time of winter''" and the cold, lonely feeling he experiences while watching the snow fall ("''and I shiver when I see the falling snow''"). While Christmas is a prominent theme of this song, writer Merle Haggard said the song is not considered a "pure" Christmas record, as the subject of economics was also explored.

Critical reception

"If We Make It Through December" was received positively by a review panel with '' Billboard'' magazine. In the review published October 13, 1973, they wrote, "Another change of pace by Haggard, who keeps surprising with his various styles, and does so well with all. He is a complete artist."

Chart performance

The song spent four weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart in December 1973 and January 1974, and cracked the Top 30 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "If We Make It Through December" was the No. 2 song of the year on ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Singles 1974 year-end chart.

Cover versions

Several singers in the country, folk and pop genres have covered "If We Make It Through December," including

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

(on his Christmas album, '' Honky Tonk Christmas''),

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and succ ...

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Di ...

Holly Cole Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio. Background Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaster ...

Joey + Rory Joey + Rory was an American country and bluegrass duo composed of singer-songwriters Rory Lee Feek (born April 25, 1965) and Joey Feek (September 9, 1975 – March 4, 2016), who were husband and wife. Both members of the duo were vocalists and ...

recorded it for their album A Farmhouse Christmas with Merle Haggard adding background vocals as well as singing the final chorus. The song was also covered by

the Blue Shadows The Blue Shadows was a Juno Award-nominated Canadian alt-country band founded in Vancouver, and active between 1992 and 1996. They released two albums in Canada.Charlotte DillonBiography of The Blue ShadowsAllmusic. Retrieved 2015-02-06. Histo ...

, featuring

Billy Cowsill William Joseph Cowsill Jr. (January 9, 1948 – February 18, 2006) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead singer and guitarist of The Cowsills, who had three top-10 singles in the late 1960s. From the ...

, and included on the 2010 re-release of the band's debut album. The song was covered by both The Mamas and

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and '' Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclai ...

in November 2020.

References

{{authority control 1973 singles Merle Haggard songs Songs written by Merle Haggard American Christmas songs Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (American record producer) Capitol Records singles 1973 songs Songs about fathers Songs about children Songs about poverty