A Snowman in Birmingham (single) (Evergreen/Nine North, 2011)

There are all different kinds of holiday songs: everything from silly verses about grandparents dying at the hooves of reindeer, to those sad characters that only get home for Christmas in their dreams. DJ Miller's Snowman in Birmingham is the painful kind of song. He sings about a carpenter father that can never build the thing a son most wants, which is a snowman. It's not that his father doesn't have the know-how. Rather, Birmingham, Ala. just isn't a place where snow falls enough for children to build snowmen out of accumulated snowflakes. The sad part is not that this boy grows into a snowman-less adult, but that when he finally sees a snowman in his hometown, his dad is not there to witness this rare sight with him. This slow country song becomes a little spiritual, however, when Miller sings, "Dad, I know you see him too." Unfortunately, dad will be home for Christmas, only in this man's dreams.