When you remember me, picture me drinking white wine in the sun

Why I love Tim Minchin's Christmas song about family, homesickness, and (maybe) heaven

Photo by Abigail Prowse on Unsplash.

Welcome to Am I Cured Yet? I’m so happy you’re here—my sincere thanks for hanging out in my little corner of the internet.

In my twenties, I worked as a music contractor in Los Angeles, helping to book musicians for live gigs, on-camera work, and TV and film recording sessions. It was a challenging and stressful job, but it came with the occasional exciting perk, at least to a wide-eyed immigrant from the English countryside.

The Christmas before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, one of these exciting requests came through our office. We were asked to arrange a string quartet for The Late Late Show with James Corden on behalf of Tim Minchin.

An Australian actor, writer, musician, comedian, poet, composer and songwriter, Tim’s one of those annoying people with more talent in his little finger than many of us could dream of achieving in our lifetime. Still, he’s extremely nice, so it’s hard to be mad about it. (I can confirm his niceness… I chatted with him at the studio, and he was very kind in a way successful people don’t need to be/usually aren’t.)

Under my boss's direction, I helped coordinate the finer details and then, along with a colleague, attended the dress rehearsal for Tim’s performance. I’ve included the live taping at the end of this post.

Tim and musicians assembled on set; I stood in the crowd, unaware that I was about to witness a performance of what would become one of my favourite songs of all time and, in my opinion, the best Christmas song ever written: White Wine in the Sun.

What starts as a joky takedown of the commercialisation of Christmas—including Tim’s doubts about his religious beliefs—ends as a profoundly moving and emotional expression of homesickness, familial ties, and love.

I vividly remember watching Tim sing his heart out seven years ago. At the time, I was desperately homesick and struggling to keep it together. I’d only lived in Los Angeles for a few years, wasn’t sure how I fit in, and was heartbroken not to be spending Christmas back home.

In the final verse, Tim sings directly to his daughter.

And you won't understand, but you will learn someday
That wherever you are and whatever you face
These are the people who'll make you feel safe in this world
My sweet blue-eyed girl
And if, my baby girl, when you're twenty-one or thirty-one
And Christmas comes around
And you find yourself nine thousand miles from home
You'll know whatever comes

Your brothers and sisters and me and your mum
Will be waiting for you in the sun
Whenever you come
Your brothers and sisters, your aunts and your uncles
Your grandparents, cousins and me and your mum
We'll be waiting for you in the sun
Drinking white wine in the sun
Darling, when Christmas comes
We'll be waiting for you in the sun
Drinking white wine in the sun

A continent away from my family, I felt he was singing directly to me.

Now, every Christmas Eve, while preparing some of the dishes for the following day, I listen to White Wine in the Sun on repeat. It’s become a ritual of sorts—a way to honour my homesickness. Though I’ve heard it countless times, it still holds so much power, and every time the final verse comes around, I cry.

The more I’ve listened, the more I’ve come to believe that its central image is about as close to an image of heaven as I could imagine.

I have to be honest: I don’t know if I believe in heaven. But, if it does exist, I hope it looks like drinking white wine in the sun.

I hope it’s everyone I love sitting in a garden, mid-summer, with a glass of chilled white wine in their hands. The trees are in bloom, the birds are singing, and they are laughing.

One day, when I’m gone, I hope it’s how the people I love will remember me.

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Do you have a favourite Holiday ritual? What is it, and why does it bring you joy? I’d love to hear from you!

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If you also get homesick this time of year or find the holidays hard, here’s last week’s post about small things that are cheering me up right now:

Thanks so much for reading! Do hit the heart button if you made it all the way to the end; it really helps me out :)

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I’ll be back next week—with more to share. Until then, thank you for reading, and take good care of yourself :)

Emma

xx

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