Songs

The Reason for the Season

This was part of the batch of ridiculous Christmas suggestions I got in late 2025 which I turned into The Ridiculous Christmas EP. This song was suggested by Mur Lafferty. In fact, Mur sent in seven or eight suggestions, any of which could have been made into a song, such as "I’m Too Drunk to Santa," "Hunting the Elf on the Shelf," and "Lumberjacks Know the Meaning of Christmas." But this is the one I went with.

Mur Lafferty: “Axial tilt is the reason for the season”

I was very afraid that the nerds on the internet would call me out for getting some part of the science wrong, but so far, I'm happy to say, that hasn't happened.

Lyrics

(v1)
In the hustle and the bustle of the holiday cheer
As you eat another treat that goes right to your rear
It’s easy to forget the true reason for the season
So I’m here with a theory you can squeeze in, you see
The obliquity of the ecliptic, epsilon
Represents the angle that the planet always sits along
Doesn’t matter where along the orbit the earth is
It always tracks at the same angle due to axial parallelism
23 degrees is maintained between the positive
Pole and the normal to the orbital plane
Resulting in diurnal variation and an angle in
Relation to the sun causing seasonal formation

Quite simple, really.

(v2)
People throughout history figured out the mystery
Of days getting shorter and the weather getting blustery
They could see the pattern with the lights in the sky
“That means that it’s a cycle and we might not all die!”
The shortest day became a quite important day for them
‘Cause it means that all the seasons will be starting up again
So mark it with a monument like Stonehenge or Newgrange
But cryptically so future generations think it’s too strange
Many celebrations mark occasions in their way
Like Yule, Saturnalia, and Christmas time today
So remember when you’re shopping and you’re eatin’ and your freezin’
Axial tilt is the reason for the season