The Friday Listen: “January Hymn” — The Decemberists

The Friday Listen is a simple, weekly reflection on music that’s been sticking with me — songs worth sitting with, revisiting, or hearing a little more closely.

by Mike Meldon

Some songs don’t just sound good — they feel like a season.

The Decemberists’ “January Hymn” has always felt like winter to me. Not winter as something to endure, but winter as something necessary. It feels like a thin ray of sunlight cutting through ice and cold — quiet, restrained, and meaningful because of everything surrounding it.

This song doesn’t fight winter. It sits inside it.

Lines like “On a winter Sunday I go / To clear away the snow” feel grounded and patient, while “to green the ground below” reminds us that renewal is already happening — even if we can’t see it yet. Especially these past few days, with more snow than we’ve seen in a while and many of us snowed in, there’s something comforting about knowing there is green below — warmth and better days ahead.

Photo credit: Cormic Meldon

Emily, Anna (my daughter), Emma, and Emerson (my son)

Without winter, the cycle is incomplete.

To truly enjoy warmth and growth, you need the cold days too. The song captures that distance beautifully — “April, all an ocean away” — giving winter its own identity instead of rushing past it.

Yin/Yang.

Abraxas.

There’s also something deeply important about January itself. The refrain — “Sing, oh January, oh” — feels like an invitation to welcome the month, not escape it.

We need beginnings.

We need moments that tell us we can start again. January offers that quietly, when life slows down and many of us turn inward.

Even though the message is reflective and subdued, the music itself feels uplifting. There’s a hymn-like quality to it — rejuvenating and steady. It raises you up without denying the cold.

Sometimes a song doesn’t inspire action.

Sometimes it inspires acceptance.

And sometimes, especially in winter, that’s exactly what we need. I added a few other great songs by The Decemberists to the playlist- check them out.