Confession time … I do not like the Little Drummer Boy Christmas song. W A Y back when I was a kid it was my favorite song, and favorite Christmas TV special. But, as I got older my fondness for it has waned dramatically … until now.
Last week (November 30) a young man from Winnipeg, Manitoba posted his version on Youtube which has gone viral (as of today it has just under two hundred thousand hits … only four days after being posted). This version is changing my perspectives towards the Little Drummer Boy song.
Sean Quigley, a sixteen year old high school student designed the arrangement. He directed, edited, recorded, and played instruments, as well as mixed it into what you can view above. WOW!
I have to say I totally love the rockier, modern version he has created. It is fun, and demands a response of toe tapping at the very least.
As I watched I was awed by his gifts, I was moved by his passion, and I was curious about his motivation. Did he know of what, and of who he was singing? Was it just a song? Or was he, like the little drummer boy he was belting out lyrics about, a poor boy with nothing to give but that which God put within him, in the form of his gifts and talents?
When an interviewer told Sean Quigley that Justin Bieber started this (Youtube) way, and asked if he dreams the same for himself, Sean responded this way:
“I wouldn’t say that being recognized is the dream. I just want people to remember what Christmas is about. It’s not about Santa, it’s not about presents, it’s about the birth of Christ, and that’s whats most important to me right now.”
YES! The message, and the messenger are in sync!
Somehow knowing that makes the validity, the power of his expression of his gifts all the more beautiful, knowing that he is acknowledging not just his gifts, but the giver of those same gifts, talents and abilities. And he is quite literally playing out the lyrics the song ends with.
“I played my drum for him,
I played my best for him,
Then he smiled at me, (Pa rum pum pum pum)
Me and my drum”
itsawonderfilledlife 