Winter Song (Sam Fender song)

"Winter Song" is a song performed by English musician Sam Fender. The song was released as a digital download on 24 November 2020 by Polydor Records and was used to raise money for Big Issue.[1][2] It is a cover of a 1970 track by Lindisfarne.

"Winter Song"
Single by Sam Fender
Released24 November 2020
Length4:14
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Alan Hull
Producer(s)Bramwell Bronte
Sam Fender singles chronology
"Hold Out"
(2020)
"Winter Song"
(2020)
"Seventeen Going Under"
(2021)

Background

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"I wanted to do a Christmas song, and wanted it to be close to my home and my heart. For me, the words are more relevant this year than ever. Christmas won't be the same for a lot of people this year, and that's why I picked Winter Song. Alan Hull truly was one of the most fantastic and underrated writers of his time. Geordie legend. I hope I've done it justice, I'm really proud of it."

— Sam Fender, "Sam Fender shares emotive cover of ’70s folk track ‘Winter Song’", NME[3]

"I wanted to do a Christmas song, but I didn't want to do something that was crass and cr*p. Winter Song is one of my favourite Christmas tunes and Alan Hull is one of my heroes [...] so I just wanted to do something that was close to home and close to my heart and that's why I picked it. If you listen to the song and the original track the lyrics are actually really poignant and relevant for the time. It's basically a Christmas message of trying to be more empathetic about people who are worse off than you."

— Sam Fender, "Sam Fender on Winter Song cover: "I didn't want to do something crass and cr*p"", Radio X[4]

Lyric video

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A lyric video to accompany the release of "Winter Song" was first released onto YouTube on 24 November 2020.[5] Talking about the video, Fender said, "So we got together with People Of The Streets [...] and I think it's sort of the first time you get to see the perspective of homeless people. You hear stats and statistics and you see the figures and it's horrible, but you don't actually see the human side of it. When you watch the video it's stunning and I was choking up the first time that I watched it. It's human and it makes it a lot more personal and a lot more close to home."[4]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from Tidal.[6]

  • Bramwell Bronte – Producer, engineer, mixer, studio personnel
  • Alan Hull – Composer, lyricist
  • India Bourne – Associated Performer, cello
  • Sam Fender – Associated Performer, piano, vocals
  • Robin Schmidt – Mastering Engineer, studio personnel

Charts

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Chart (2020) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[7] 23

Release history

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Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 24 November 2020[1][2] Polydor

References

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  1. ^ a b "Winter Song - Single by Sam Fender". Apple Music. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Winter Song - Single by Sam Fender". Spotify. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Sam Fender shares emotive cover of '70s folk track 'Winter Song'". NME. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Sam Fender on Winter Song cover: "I didn't want to do something crass and cr*p"". NME. 7 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Sam Fender - Winter Song (Lyric video) | Collaboration with People Of The Streets". Retrieved 10 December 2020 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Credits / Winter Song / Sam Fender – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Sam Fender – Winter Song" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 10 December 2020.