Nancy Hays Releases New Christmas Song – ‘Light In The Winter’

Nancy Hays has been delighting audiences for years! Now, the singer of 'Come Dance With Me' (one of the top Country Line Dance songs in the world) releases a new holiday song that will get you in the holiday spirit and on the dance floor.

Interview with Nancy Hays

Q: Who wrote the song and what inspired it? 

A: The song was written by an award winning songwriter named Michael Mahler who composed it as the theme song for a new musical The Christmas Miracle of Johnathan Toomey.  It was sent to my daughter Caroline, who is a professional child actress, on a demo to prepare for her role in that show. When we put it into our CD player to have a listen, we realized that we were hearing a one in a million classic country song, with a melody you can’t get out of your head and a positive message for everyone. Light in the Winter is folk hymn like This Little Light of Mine, an anthem of love, faith and family.

The message of the song was inspired by the story of a man (Johnathan Toomey) who is profoundly lonely and mad at God because he has lost his wife and child.  By mentoring a young boy who he teaches to build a nativity scene for a church service, he finds joy and redemption. It is about celebrating with others at Christmas as one family, even when we miss our Christmas memories of the past.

Q: Why did you decide to include your family?

A: When I heard Light in the Winter for the first time I knew it would be the perfect song for our family to perform together.  My son is a violinist and the song features strong fiddle solos. The songwriter arranged it so that it builds musically as it progresses.  We start out with one voice and then add in others so that by the end of the song, we are all singing in harmony. The group format helps to reinforce the song’s purpose and the fact that we are all one family celebrating the season and the true meaning of Christmas.

Q: What has been the highlight of your career to date?

A: That is a very tough question to answer because there are so many great highlights. Here are a few of my favorites; singing the National Anthem for the President of the United States, dancing with Mario Lopez on a TV show called The Other Half, performing on the main stage at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and on the Grand Ole Opry stage where many of my heros have played, watching a YouTube video of a football field of people in Asia dancing to Come Dance with Me, traveling across an ocean to meet people already familiar with my music because of the incredible power of the internet, recording Light in the Winter with my kids and hearing it make its radio debut on WSM in Nashville! 

Q: If you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be and why?

A: It would be Dolly Parton.  I have been a fan of her music all my life.  The first time I heard Coat of Many Colors and Jolene, I was mesmerized. I love her songwriting, her traditional country style, her Gospel music and her infectious personality.

Q: What’s one fun fact about your career that you would like to share?

A: I started out my career as a teenager in the I Hear America Singing Show at Opryland USA and my solos in that show were Tennessee Waltz and Brown Eyes Blue.

Click here for the Light In The Winter Line Dance