An opinion piece from Jay Kirby

Christmas: even just the word will have set off a variety of emotional responses. There’s a lot to criticise the holiday for: whether it be the event’s slow shift away from religious celebration towards a focus on commercialism, the financial strain it puts on many households or the fact that Mariah Carey gets crammed down our throats year after year, Christmas only ever seems to become more divisive. Despite all that, however, there are so many reasons to call December the hap-hap-happiest time of the year: maybe it’s the delicious food; maybe it’s the focus on family, togetherness and generosity; maybe it’s the very small chance of snow (at least here in the UK). Regardless of your reason why, one thing’s for sure: if you love the holidays, no song can encapsulate the festive spirit more succinctly than Chris Rea’s ‘Driving Home for Christmas.’

For as delightfully bouncy and easy-going as the song is, you wouldn’t think that it was written in during such a difficult period. In interviews, Rea has told the story of how, prior to putting the track’s lyrics together, his manager had dropped him: with his record contract having run out, the singer-songwriter was out of a job. Since the label wouldn’t pay for a train to get him home, Rea’s now-wife Joan drove all the way from Middlesborough to London to pick him up before going all the way back again, showcasing the familial love the song is meant to embody. It was on that drive that Rea first began to put the song together, writing lyrics whenever another car’s headlights would shine through the window. 

Though the song wouldn’t release for another eight years, and as a b-side at that— Rea was afraid that a Christmas song would hurt his reputation as a serious rock musician— I think the spur-of-the-moment event that kicked off the project shines through in the final result. The opening lyrics of ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ capture a universal experience:

“I'm driving home for Christmas

Oh, I can't wait to see those faces

I'm driving home for Christmas, yeah

Well, I'm moving down that line.”

Rea’s delivery captures the deep sense of love and belonging that the song thrives in: even besides the relatable events being described, the track is built from Chris’ love of his wife, as well as for the holiday season itself. Speaking on the topic of the holidays, Rea has said, “I love Christmas. For me, it’s a big Christmas tree, candles on the table, sprinklings of stars on the tablecloth, and a fine assortment of wines.” 

Despite that though, the song also captures a longing to be close to the people you love, providing just enough emotional nuance to keep me returning to the track year after year (even if the song is, first and foremost, a celebration of the light and love that Christmas is meant to embody).

“Top to toe in tailbacks

Oh, I got red lights all around

But soon there'll be a freeway, yeah

Get my feet on holy ground.”

‘Driving Home for Christmas’ also manages to capture the festive spirit musically, remaining bright and joyous at every turn without encroaching into the ‘annoying’ or ‘grating’ territory that far too many songs in the genre dive headfirst into. Built from a simple two-chord relationship that Rea moves around the piano, the song’s central groove is instantly infectious as we settle into a laid-back rhythm. Despite its apparent simplicity, however, the arrangement is full and lush, layering a plethora of soft strings behind warm pianos and guitars— those instruments often provide sweet little lead parts in between Rea’s vocals, providing the track with a gentle but ever-present momentum as it shuffles onward. Though the song has both a guitar solo (albeit, an impossibly brief one) and a sleigh bell inclusion, neither one disrupts the song’s easy-going atmosphere: if anything, we’d argue that the bells fit into the soundscape quite nicely, while the solo adds a muted but appreciated climax to the track. When combined with Rea’s honest and intimate vocal performance, the overall sound of ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ is a beautiful homage to the holiday, and I’m a firm believer that it’s impossible to hear the song without smiling.

Every year, I force myself to wait until December 1st to put ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ on for the first time: if I didn’t, I’m sure I’d listen to it all year round. Using nothing but a few piano chords and a long car journey in 1978, Chris Rea created a holiday classic that continues to sit alongside the mince pies and the filled stockings every year. Even if you’re not as enamoured with the track as I am, you have to admit that the song is easy listening, and much less irritating than many of its contemporaries: I’ll be spinning this one for years to come, making my Christmases that much brighter each time.