As a long-time country music fan, seeing Megan Moroney surprise drop her first-ever Christmas project prepared me to saddle up for the holiday. The three-track set contains two original songs and a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.” The range of upbeat country to slow two-step beats follows suit with her usual multi-style projects, and makes for the perfect  Christmas release. Following a successful sophomore album, the holiday-season release leaves listeners excited and hoping for a cowboy for Christmas this year. 

Moroney’s first track, “All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy,” has a swing country feel, making listeners want to put on their boots and hit the dance floor. The song is a single woman’s anthem of knowing exactly what you want for Christmas — in Moroney’s case, a cowboy. She sings, “Wrap a bow ‘round a boy in some Wrangler jeans / The only thing I’d like to see under my Christmas tree” to describe her Christmas wish. Her vocal twang and sass in lyric delivery is a fun style, reminiscent of Shania Twain. Moroney is relatable as she sings that she wants a cowboy “Who only wants [her].” Though, the song’s catchy, honky tonk ending leaves fans wanting more. 

The dance-pop and hip-swinging country tune thrusts you into the slow-burning ache of the second track, “Christmas Morning.” The song  opens up with heart-wrenching lyrics touching on losing trust and goodness in a relationship. Moroney uses the immediate take-down of Christmas decorations and the fleeting feeling of Christmas morning as an analogy for her sadness and mourning, expressing, “We’ve been fallin’ apart all year and today I can’t ignore it,” asking, “Baby, when did our love stop feelin’ like Christmas morning?” 

The guitar flits between verses, creating a feeling of ​​evanescent happiness. The song’s soft, steady beat allows for the message to connect with the listeners, making them remember a younger Christmas when the magic disappears and the childlike innocence starts to fade. The lyrics, “Take down the tree, unplug the lights / It’s colder in this bed than it is outside / Too tired to fight and too sad to cry,” is a vulnerable reflection on heartache. 

The third and final track, “Blue Christmas, ” is a cover of the Elvis classic with a sprinkle of Southern charm. The lyrics pull out the raw emotion in her vocals, ending some phrases with a tormenting pause. All the songs highlight heartbreak around the holidays, but Moroney focuses on softer vocals and pitch. The songs feel entirely different, pulling out different emotions from one another. 

Moroney brings a raspiness and vulnerability to the lyrics and vocals with, “I’ll have a blue Christmas without you / I’ll be so blue just thinkin’ about you / Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree / Won’t be the same dear, if you’re not here with me.” Her musicality is touching and the song’s instrumentals pull you to the floor by the invisible weight of grief. 

Contact Addison Alvarado at [email protected].