“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is a classic Christmas song written by lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent, first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943. Crosby’s version became a top ten hit and has since become a beloved holiday standard.
The song was originally written as a tribute to soldiers stationed overseas during World War II who longed to be home for Christmas. It is sung from the perspective of a soldier writing to his family, asking them to prepare for his return by arranging familiar holiday elements like snow, mistletoe, and presents “on” the tree. However, the song takes a bittersweet turn as the soldier acknowledges, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” On the B-side of Crosbys original recording was the song “Danny Boy.”
This arrangement is for flute choir.
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