The Christmas Blues

A melancholy counterpoint to the season’s usual cheer, this bluesy number finds Cahn in an unusually downcast holiday mood — the loneliness of Christmas when you’re separated from someone you love. Dean Martin’s 1953 recording is perfectly suited to the material, his easy warmth making the sadness feel lived-in rather than maudlin.

One of the more emotionally complex entries in the Cahn Christmas catalog, and a reminder that he could find the shadow as readily as the light.