Behind the Music: Writing a Christmas Song That Speaks to the Heart
18 December 2024
Listen to Fear Not by clicking here
Picture this: a room filled with twinkling lights, the hum of a guitar, and the gentle sound of voices harmonising. Christmas carols are everywhere—cheery, upbeat, and full of joy. But for a pair of songwriters preparing for this year’s Oak Hill community carol service, something felt missing. Lukas and Michael are first year students at Oak Hill College and they share with us the story behind the song.
The desire to write a Christmas song started with a simple idea: creating space for reflection.
The desire to write a Christmas song started with a simple idea: creating space for reflection. “We wanted people, whether from our community or beyond, to have a moment to think about what they’d heard in the talk and reflect on it”. While the carols in the service were uplifting and celebratory, they felt there was room for something that carried a more contemplative tone.
Thursday Nights, Guitars, and Too Many Lyrics
The songwriting process kicked off a few weeks before the service. Over several Thursday evenings, armed with a keyboard, a guitar, and a lot of ideas, they began to piece the song together. “Lukas had one sort of idea, and we just kind of rolled with that,” Michael said. From there, the lyrics started flowing—but maybe a little too well.
“At one point, we had so many ideas that the song could have been eight minutes long,” they laughed. “Every verse and chorus had different lyrics. There was even a spoken word section after the bridge!” It wasn’t until a helpful consultation with another student that they realised they needed to simplify. The feedback helped them refine the song into a more focused structure, centering on just one or two themes.
Exploring Light and Darkness
The song wrestles with two main themes: light and darkness, and the message of “fear not.”
They began by imagining the shepherds on the hillside, waiting in darkness before the angels appeared with their good news. “That’s why verse one starts with, ‘In the land of darkness…’ and builds into the chorus where suddenly light is shining around them,” they explained.
The second theme, “fear not,” ties the Christmas story to a broader narrative in Scripture. “The angels told the shepherds, ‘Fear not.’ Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid before he went to the cross. And after the resurrection, the angel tells Mary, ‘Do not be afraid.’” The song echoes this message of comfort and hope throughout, weaving it into the imagery of light overcoming darkness.
Why did they focus on these themes? “Right now you don’t have to look too hard or too far to see darkness in the world but in quiet moments of reflection, there’s a recognition of darkness in each of our hearts too.” Lukas shared.
“Right now you don’t have to look too hard or too far to see darkness in the world but in quiet moments of reflection, there’s a recognition of darkness in each of our hearts too.”
Writing the song became a personal reminder of their own need for the light of Christ, shaping the final version to emphasise this universal longing for hope and redemption. “It’s so easy to look at the world’s problems and forget how much I need this light in my own heart. That’s what makes the message of Christmas so wonderful: God comes to dwell with people. And the message is, ‘Fear not.’”
Songs have a unique way of delivering a message—and this pair understood the power of music to make the good news unforgettable. “Daniel, another student, overheard us practicing and later told us the song was stuck in his head all day,” they said with a smile.
Music, they reflected, has a way of amplifying emotions and driving a message home. “There’s a moment in the song where we sing about ‘those who did receive Him’ and how He gives new life, new birth. The music shifts to this major chord there, and it just feels like light breaking through darkness. That’s something you can’t quite capture in spoken words alone.”
A Hope for Fearless Hearts
So, what do they hope people take away from this song? “Bottom line, we want people to learn to fear not,” they said. “To understand what the birth of Christ actually achieved: dispelling the darkness and fear in the world, and in our own hearts.”
“Bottom line, we want people to learn to fear not, to understand what the birth of Christ actually achieved: dispelling the darkness and fear in the world, and in our own hearts.”
One line from the bridge stands out as their favourite: “The true miracle of Christ is not His birth; it’s that He died.” They explained, “Obviously, the incarnation is amazing—God as a baby boy—but it all points to the cross. That’s where the light is slain by darkness, only for light to burst forth again three days later. That’s the ultimate Christmas message: light has dawned.
It invites each of us to reflect on what it means for the light of Christ to break into our own darkness, bringing hope and renewal in the midst of fear."
