It's seasonally appropriate to be melancholic this time of year for a slew of reasons, but it's true that holiday tunes do give us a sense of hope and cheer. Anna Burch dials into those emotions all the way on her end of the year track "Your Heart May Be Heavy" –

“I knew I wanted to write a Christmas song after the difficult year we’ve all had, because of how emotionally potent they can be. When I hear Judy Garland sing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” I can’t help but well up with tears while still remaining hopeful. I came up with the chord progression on piano, but then I got covid. Thankfully I had a mild case, but not only was my motivation and creativity completely drained, I also couldn’t sing very well because of limited breath control. Luckily I recovered in time, and with the help and generosity of my friends and team I was able to finish this song in time to have it out just before Christmas. The song is called “Your Heart May Be Heavy” which I didn’t consciously realize was an inversion of Judy’s “may your heart be light.” Merry Christmas to everyone muddling through, I hope this song in its small way can be a gift of cheer.”

Today's sweet single follows Anna's sophomore album, If You’re Dreaming, released earlier this year and described by SPIN as "lush, downtempo brilliance."

It's that time of year
First snow's in the air

Your face all aglow
Sing a song you know

Strings of little lights
Candles burning bright

Though your heart may be heavy
Take my hand and you'll see
All I need is what's in front of me
to have a Merry Christmas now

Walk out in the cold
Sing a song you know