It Feels Like Christmas

Album: released as a single (2025)
Charted: 60 94
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "It Feels Like Christmas" is Fall Out Boy's contribution to the 2025 Spotify Singles Holiday shelf, a cover of the song originally belted out by the Ghost of Christmas Present in the 1992 movie The Muppet Christmas Carol.
  • The tune was written by Paul Williams, an American songwriter, composer, and singer, known for a run of hugely influential 1970s pop ballads and for his work on film music. He co-wrote classics like the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days And Mondays," as well as "Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie and the songs for The Muppet Christmas Carol.
  • Fall Out Boy don't tinker much; the song's thesis remains that "wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas." Kindness, generosity, and memory do the heavy lifting here.
  • Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump co-produced the track with Jack Mason, known for work with MUNA and Dashboard Confessional. Stump casually notes at the end that it's "kind of a short little song," a wink to anyone expecting a pop epic.
  • Fall Out Boy chose "It Feels Like Christmas" out of genuine affection for The Muppet Christmas Carol, which they've described on social media as "possibly the greatest adaptation" of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. They've long admired its music and clearly approached their version as a love letter rather than a contractual obligation to the holiday-industrial complex. This isn't a cynical cash-in; it's four grown men happily playing in Jim Henson's sandbox.
  • The song adds to Fall Out Boy's small catalog of Christmas-adjacent material. There's "Yule Shoot Your Eye Out," their anti-sentimental holiday anthem for people who find December emotionally hazardous, and their 2006 cover of "What's This?" from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which splits the difference between festive and existential. Compared to those, "It Feels Like Christmas" is their most straightforwardly tender seasonal offering, proof that even a band built on angst and irony can occasionally agree that love, wherever you find it, still feels like Christmas.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Melanie

MelanieSongwriter Interviews

The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.