Look, not everybody is feeling festive this holiday season.  We all have those years – or heck, even lifetimes – where being around of bunch of happy, cheerful people just makes us feel more miserable about what we lack in our lives.   

Well now, Toronto singer, songwriter, musician and actress Melanie Peterson has a new holiday single for such occasions called “Christmas Breaks My Heart.”

• More new holiday music: Q&A (Quarrington and Adams) – “C’mon Midnight”
• More new holiday music: Silent Winters – Christmas Morning
• More new holiday music: Còig’s new holiday album just came out yesterday – and they’re touring!
• More new holiday music: Check out Francine Honey’s holiday Americana

“What inspired the song?” she said. “To me, there is more than one side to Christmas. There’s the whimsical, childlike, magical side, and then there is a melancholy, lonelier side. This year, I was really drawn and excited to write a sad Christmas song about someone who was facing Christmas with a broken heart. I strangely enjoyed tapping into the loneliness and sadness someone can feel when spending Christmas alone.”

“Christmas Breaks My Heart” was produced, engineered and mixed by Juno and Polaris Prize-winning producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda, who is known for his work with the Rheostatics, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Jerry Cans, Amelia Curran, Barenaked Ladies and many more.

Melanie sang lead vocals and played acoustic guitar on the song, and Michael played drums, bass, keys, and electric guitars and shared backing vocals.

The song was written during the summer of 2017 and recorded during the summer of 2018, and Melanie explains, “It was an interesting challenge getting into the Christmas spirit when it’s 35 degrees outside!”

Fortunately, this isn’t your typical jolly holiday anthem.  Have a listen.

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