Good Tunes: Katie Pruitt, 'Merry Christmas Mary Jane'

“Is that song about weed?” The Foxy Lady asked me as we drove home late Sunday night, “Merry Christmas Mary Jane” having lulled our kids to sleep between Iowa City and Mount Vernon.

“I think so,” I said, mostly assuming because of the chorus.

After listening to it carefully and watching the video for the first time, I can now say that it is definitely about weed.

“Merry Christmas Mary Jane” has been included on our recent Christmas playlists for some reason. Maybe it is included on “Christmas Americana,” which has been in heavy rotation while we’ve been decorating and baking cookies. (It’s pretty good, and that is coming from a guy who is not all that into Americana—though I am a fan of the blues.) Regardless, I had never heard it before this year and think this is now one of my favorite Christmas songs. It might not be “Last Christmas,” “Run Rudolph Run,” or “Wonderful Christmastime,” but it now has a place among the season’s classics for me.