“Joy,” one of two original songs that Tracey Thorn penned for her new Christmas album, Tinsel and Lights, might very well be the only seasonal offering that starts off with a cancer scare to remind us what this time of year is all about.

“In a way, [‘Joy’] explains why I wanted to make a Christmas record,” Thorn explains in a mini-documentary for Tinsel and Lights. “As a song, it’s almost like a secular carol, really. It’s me talking about all the reasons I love Christmas and why it’s important to me. I’m not religious, so it doesn’t have that significance for me. But I think it’s very much a time when we do all try to set aside some of the crappy things of life and just celebrate stuff together.”

Now there’s a music video for “Joy,” filmed at the Lille Christmas Market in Northern France by Thorn’s other half in EBTG and life, Ben Watt, who also plays guitar on the song. He solicited visual requests for the clip via Twitter, but my suggestion that Watt make a cameo appearance as Santa didn’t make the cut. Thorn was on board, tweeting: “THIS IS A VERY GOOD IDEA.”

Alas, we’re left to watch as Thorn wanders alone in “Joy,” taking in the wonders and the wares by herself:

This morning, Thorn offered these two ‘fun facts’ about filming “Joy”:

Fun Fact 1 : the final scenes were supposed to be me ON the ferris wheel, but I chickened out, and so am stood IN FRONT of it. Ahem.

— Tracey Thorn (@tracey_thorn) December 10, 2012

Fun Fact 2 : in the final scenes I have taken off my boots, which were killing me, and am standing on my gloves. OH THE GLAMOUR you cry.

— Tracey Thorn (@tracey_thorn) December 10, 2012

A stripped-down version of “Joy,” with Thorn’s voice accompanied only by Watt on acoustic guitar, has also been released:

Purchase Tracey Thorn – “Joy” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.