This Christmas – English Lyrics

• By: Donny Hathaway, Lalah Hathaway

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the heartwarming spirit of the holiday season with Donny Hathaway's timeless classic, 'This Christmas.' This soulful anthem offers a rich lyrical landscape that expresses the joy, love, and anticipation of the festive period. Its clear, evocative language and smooth R&B melodies provide an excellent opportunity to learn English vocabulary related to holiday celebrations, emotions, and personal connections, while experiencing the depth and artistry of a true R&B standard.

[English]

Hang all the mistletoe

I'm gonna get to know you better

This Christmas

And as we trim the tree

How much fun it's gonna be together

This Christmas

Fireside is blazing bright

We're caroling through the night

And this Christmas will be

A very special Christmas for me

Presents and cards are here

My world is filled with cheer and you

This Christmas

And as I look around

Your eyes outshine the town, they do

This Christmas

Fireside is blazing bright

We're caroling through the night

And this Christmas will be

A very special Christmas for me, yeah

Shake a hand, shake a hand now

Mmm, the fireside is blazing bright

We're caroling through the night

And this Christmas will be

A very special Christmas for me, yeah

Merry Christmas

Shake a hand, shake a hand now

Wish your brother Merry Christmas

All over the land now

Yeah

Merry Christmas

Merry, merry Christmas

Hey!

Merry, merry, merry, merry

Hmm

Oh-oh-oh

Ooh

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Christmas /ˈkrɪs.məs/ A1	noun - the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25
know /noʊ/ A1	verb - to have information or awareness
trim /trɪm/ B2	verb - to decorate
tree /triː/ A1	noun - a woody perennial plant
fun /fʌn/ A1	noun - enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure
blazing /ˈbleɪ.zɪŋ/ B2	adjective - shining brightly or burning fiercely
bright /braɪt/ B2	adjective - giving out or reflecting a lot of light
caroling /ˈkærəlɪŋ/ B2	verb - singing carols
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period of darkness in each twenty-four hours; the time from sunset to sunrise
special /ˈspeʃ.əl/ A2	adjective - different from what is usual
presents /ˈprez.ənt/ A2	noun - a thing given to someone as a gift
cards /kɑːrdz/ A1	noun - a piece of thick, stiff paper or thin pasteboard, used for writing or printing on
world /wɜːld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, people, and natural features
cheer /tʃɪər/ B1	noun - happiness and good spirits
shake /ʃeɪk/ A2	verb - to move (something) up and down or from side to side with rapid, forceful movements
merry /ˈmeri/ A2	adjective - cheerful and lively

Key Grammar Structures

• I'm gonna get to know you better

  ➔ Future Simple (informal) with "gonna"

  ➔ "Gonna" is a colloquial contraction of "going to", used to express a future intention. "I'm gonna" is short for "I am going to". "better" is an adverb modifying "get to know", implying a deeper or more complete understanding.

• How much fun it's gonna be together

  ➔ Exclamatory sentence structure, Future Simple with "gonna", Impersonal "it"

  ➔ This expresses excitement about a future event. "How much fun" emphasizes the high degree of enjoyment expected. "it's gonna be" uses the impersonal "it" as a placeholder, referring to the general experience of being "together".

• Fireside is blazing bright

  ➔ Present Continuous (describing a current state)

  ➔ "is blazing" describes the current action of the fire. Although not a literal action verb, "blaze" describing the active and bright burning. "bright" is an adjective describing the quality of the blazing.

• We're caroling through the night

  ➔ Present Continuous (describing an activity in progress)

  ➔ "We're caroling" (We are caroling) describes the activity of singing Christmas carols that is happening at the moment. "through the night" indicates the duration or time frame of the caroling.

• This Christmas will be A very special Christmas for me

  ➔ Future Simple, Noun Phrase modification with adjectives

  ➔ "will be" expresses a future state or condition. "A very special Christmas" is a noun phrase. "special" and "very" are adjectives modifying the noun "Christmas".

• And as I look around, Your eyes outshine the town, they do

  ➔ Subordinating conjunction "as", Simple Present Tense, Ellipsis (repetition of "outshine the town")

  ➔ "as" introduces a clause indicating time or circumstance. "look" is in the simple present tense. "they do" is an example of ellipsis; it means "they outshine the town", but the verb phrase is omitted for emphasis and rhythm.