Every year at this time Greg Lake’s ‘I believe in Father Christmas’ is forced on us (admittedly it is probably the best ever Christmas song, sorry Pogues) without radio jocks or listeners even realising that Greg and Pete Sinfield weren’t exactly pushing religion in it (“They sold me a dream of Christmas/they sold me a Silent Night/They told me a fairy story/Until I believed in the Israelite.”)
Now Norwegian writer and rocker Nicolay Løvvold takes matters a stage further with an all out assault.
Even if Christianity has been in decline in recent years (allowing for a resurgence in the UK at least in this last one) it still takes a brave man to re-release an updated single called ‘I don’t believe in God’ a few days before Christmas.
However, all is not what it seems. Read on.
This is actually one of the first songs Nicolay ever recorded, back in 2008, and after some rumination he decided several of them could use some modernisation, especially the lyrics.
He had already done something similar in 2015, and even included all three versions of it on the EP then. The 2008 edit is, he says, “one clearly aimed at some girl from the past”, but he can’t remember who. (I don’t think he’ll be on her Christmas card list).
He concluded that the 2015 edit came off as more sensible to him, but it was “very pretentious and full of itself in my opinion. It needed to go, too.”
Lastly, the quality and production sounded outdated – even for time when they were recorded. He admits to being no expert, but thought he’d be able to make some improvements there as well.
So, the sound has been upgraded and re-recorded from the ground up. Everything was thrown out. It got a bit darker, a little heavier, and the drums delved more into progressive territory. To him, that was a far better fit. (Remember that he plays most of the instruments himself).
Lyrically, the song does takes a stab at religion, or at least some of the problematic issues that seem to follow it around sometimes.
It is released at a poignant time for him, having received news that a friend and mentor passed away after a long illness. His name was Pål and he was the producer at SeldomSeen studios, where Nicolas started recording songs before he was able to afford his own studio.
This song was one of them.
Nicolas is both stoical and pragmatic about these things. He says Pål’s passing didn’t make him think about God any more than Christmas does. He will attend church for the holiday service, and will do so respectfully but that’s about the measure of it.
So he’ll be learning more about Jesus, while “my song does its thing: mildly entertain seven or eight people, before the algorithm decides to bury it. And who knows; maybe I’ll decide to redo it again in 20 year’s time – perhaps for my daughter’s wedding, then?”
Again there are three versions valuable now; the 2008 (remastered) edit, the 2015 (alternate) version and this 2025 edition. We’ll focus on 2025.
Listeners may spot cynicism throughout the song, or even a Judas Iscariot-like figure in his own persona but I would identify instead an individual that prefers liberty and freedom of expression to what he sees as the yoke imposed on humanity by the church in the name of religion when Jesus’ own interpretation of that word was one of a lack of oppression.
Or to put it another way, that the church has lost its path over time and needs to get back on it. And there’s no time like the present.
As ever, deep-thinking stuff and matched by a solid rocker of a tune brought ‘up to date’ by the application of 1980s style electronic enhancement and intense forceful lyrics and vocal delivery.
The other two versions on the EP are similar but quite different from this one. The original is the rawest and heaviest of the lot and – musically at least – the one I would vote for in a competition. It’s close to Springsteen in intensity.
What do you make of them?
(Continues after the Spotify links).
He’s been on hiatus during the last few weeks, because of a new job and some developments on the home front. That along with completing two albums in under a year made it necessary to take a step back.
However, he has slowly started to resume, and the pause led him to try out some new things.
Before then he’s still got another older song from before his autumn break lined up for release in the near future, prior to any new material being ready.
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolaylovvold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolaylovvold/
