LOL, Catherine... That one actually flew off before I could write it. But I think her writing reflects that Christmas is just one more thing that doesn't live up to the hype.
Why else would she throw the Christmas reference into "Chinese Cafe", except to set up the contrast of the supposed joy of the season against her own melancholia? I think if you were to distill her body of work into a single theme, it's that nothing (love, political power, fame) is what it's cracked up to be. Maybe that's why her signature song is Both Sides Now, because it's a microcosm of that bittersweet theme; of moving from naivete to knowledge. Bob NP: Elvis Costello, "The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes" 5/15/96
