Three Christmas Songs Chosen by One Japanese Listener— No. 3: “White Christmas”

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The Third Song That Makes Me Feel Christmas — A Classic of All Classics

The Partridge Family (featuring David Cassidy)
“White Christmas”

This song is so famous that, for me, it was never something I actively chose to listen to. It was simply a standard — a song that was always there. When December arrived, it appeared on its own and began to play on its own. Before I could consciously choose it, the season seemed to hand it to me.

For a long time, I never thought of this song as something special. It felt too polished, too correct, and a little boring. To ears that were absorbed in Western pop music at the time, it inevitably sounded conservative.

And yet, when I heard it sung in David Cassidy’s voice, this song revealed a completely different face.

A Very Loose Summary of “Last Christmas”

When winter comes, images appear before memories do.
I trace a familiar whiteness I feel I have seen somewhere before.
I hope that the other person’s days are just a little brighter.
That single wish is repeated again and again, in the same words.

First, Please Watch the Official YouTube Video

✅ Official Video Credits
White Christmas – The Partridge Family
Format: Official Audio
Provided by: BMG Special Products
YouTube: The Partridge Family – Topic (Official)
Originally released: 1971
Album: A Partridge Family Christmas Card
Rights: ℗ Originally released 1971. All rights reserved by Arista Records LLC
💬 Two-line note
An official recording from the Partridge Family’s 1971 Christmas album,
this version of “White Christmas” carries a warm, gentle sound typical of a TV-born pop group of the era.

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Release Information

• Album: A Partridge Family Christmas Card
• Artist: The Partridge Family
• Featuring: David Cassidy
• Release: November 1971 (US)
• Label: Bell Records
• Recording date of “White Christmas”: August 25, 1971

This album was created at the height of the Partridge Family’s popularity, a group born from the television show of the same name. It clearly reflects the close relationship between American television and pop music at the time. A single titled “White Christmas / Jingle Bells” was also released that same year.

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When a Standard Suddenly Feels Young

David Cassidy’s “White Christmas” is not a grand or authoritative performance. If anything, it feels light and close. Rather than looking up at a completed monument, it feels as if the song is being sung right beside you.

That sense of distance suddenly pulls this song into the present tense.

The melody remains the same, but the resonance changes. It is as if a heavy coat has been removed, leaving only a thin sweater — the sound moves more easily through the air.

To my ears at the time, it sounded surprisingly pop. The assumption that this was “an old song” vanished with the texture of his voice. The label of “standard” fell away, and the song rose up simply as a good piece of music.

That sensation is still very clear in my memory.

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Christmas as Quiet Repetition, Not Extravagance

This song does not depict a special night. Only the suggestion of snow, distant sounds, and a few short words written on a card. Nothing dramatic happens.

And yet, the song returns every year, repeating the same phrases again and again.

When heard in David Cassidy’s voice, that repetition feels comforting. Without stirring great emotions, it quietly tells you, “Yes, this season has come again.”

For me, this version of “White Christmas” is not a song for celebration, but a song for adjustment.

At the end of the year, it gently rounds off the sharp edges of emotion. Without making any grand resolutions, you find yourself quietly repeating the same words once more.

That repetition, I think, suits the closing days of the year perfectly.