The Story Behind Season to Be Grateful
This song started with a small seasonal moment: seeing a familiar Christmas tree lot already set up before Thanksgiving. I was perfectly fine with Christmas arriving early. What stayed with me was how quickly that ordinary sight opened an older memory and changed the way I was looking at the present.
That memory led me less toward a song about success and more toward gratitude. Good seasons and difficult seasons both pass. The point is not to assume comfort will last, but to notice it while it is here, prepare wisely, and let the season remind you of what has changed for the better.
I wanted the song to feel warm, grounded, and universal, with the holidays acting as a reason to slow down and recognize what we normally rush past.
Creative Notes
I started with a more literal version, then simplified the setting and leaned harder into metaphor so the song would feel like a seasonal reflection rather than a location-specific memory. I also moved gratitude to the center of the song instead of leaving it as a supporting idea.
The artwork followed a similar path. I first explored overt Christmas imagery, then tested a quieter late-fall scene with sparse trees and an almost-winter atmosphere, while keeping the established RoyRoy Genkins vintage Americana visual motif.
Lyrics
Listen & Follow
Play the song while you follow the lyrics.
Saw the lots of firs go up before the frost Lights coming out before the turkeys are lost And something in that early holiday glow Reminds me how far simple thanks can go Cause every year brings its share of weight But gratitude can shift what the heart can take It turns the smallest moments into something more A warm little truth you cant ignore
And I’m grateful for the season For the way it slows me down For the quiet little whispers In the shops around the town Yeah gratitude’s a lantern When the days grow short and cold It lights the parts of life We sometimes forget to hold
There were years when the ground felt thin beneath me Times when a blessing was something I had to see Not in the money or the rhythm of the grind But in the peace that shows up when you realign You store away the good like wood for winter Small mercies glow a little warmer a little brighter And when the season comes it all rings true Gratitude changes what the world feels like to you
And I’m grateful for the season For the way it slows me down For the quiet little whispers In the shops around the town Yeah gratitude’s a lantern When the days grow short and cold It lights the parts of life We sometimes forget to hold
Maybe that’s the gift we miss Chasing after more than this When all we need to feel renewed Is stopping long enough to choose gratitude
So I’m grateful for the season For the chance to breathe and see That every high and low before Still shaped the best in me Yeah gratitude’s a lantern And its bright enough to show There is beauty in the moments Wed otherwise not know And I carry that reminder Wherever I may go
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