Written by

emDesigns

for KING & COUNTRY’s version of the classic Christmas song, Little Drummer Boy, is by far my favorite rendition of the song.

It’s difficult to explain why I love this particular version so much. The music itself is beautiful—the song begins with the infectious drum intro and the vocals are strong and filled with real conviction—but it is some of the new alterations and lyrics that are added to this version that never fail to speak to my very soul.

I’ve discovered that whenever I listen to that song, I always find myself waiting in anticipation for the very last part of the song. The singer sings me and my drum right at three minutes twenty-seven seconds, when the music stops for exactly two seconds and one expects the entire piece to reach an end. But it begins again with the dramatic entrance of stringed instruments playing in harmony for eighteen seconds, and then the me and my drums begin again, each one more stronger and more triumphant than the last. And then the lyric that always, always breaks me enters: All I can give. It’s repeated three times. What I love most about it isn’t the truth of the statement but the tone it’s uttered in: it’s not sung in a way that makes giving our “drums” to God seem a burden, or something that breaks our spirit. The line is delivered in a tone that is exuberant, overjoyed, and absolutely enraptured. It encapsulates the real spirit of being able to give ourselves and any gift or lack thereof that we have to Him—and that the ability of being able to do so is truly a beautiful blessing. It couldn’t make me feel any more ecstatic, that I am able to give everything I have to Him. He doesn’t necessarily need the gifts I have. I would be in possession of unfathomable arrogance to presume that the Lord is in desperate need of anything I have. I give Him all I can give, just as the song says, so to honor Him. The first half of the song captures the beauty of being able to play for Him: Shall I play for You? the singer asks. Mary nodded… the ox and lamb kept time… I played my drum for Him… I played my best for Him. The emphasis on best is beautiful, for Christ is deserving of all we can give and the very best we give. And when the singer finally sings quietly, “then, He smiled at me”? Picture me, bursting into tears internally. Oh, joy upon higher joy. To be able to play for Him, to play whatever we can and to play it the best we can, is that one joy that I can never get over. Most of all, I can’t wait to see Jesus smile at me. I would be brought to my knees in tears of pure joy.