„Driving Home For Christmas“

The song is on Christmas playlists every year and is often the soundtrack of people travelling to their loved ones during the festive season. This is the story behind the song.

Chris Rea schrieb „Driving Home For Christmas“ 1978 im Londoner Stau. Erst 1986 erschien der Song. Hier die Geschichte hinter dem Weihnachtsklassiker.

MEMO: you will find the story in english words at the end!

Das heute weltberühmte Lied entstand, als Reas Frau ihn in einem kleinen Auto aus London abholte. Gemeinsam wollten sie zur Feier mit der Familie fahren. 

An diesem Tag waren die Straßen überfüllt, sie standen immer wieder im Stau. Rea inspirierte das, er begann zu singen, machte sich Notizen. Doch bis zur Veröffentlichung sollte es noch eine ganze Weile dauern.

Ho, ho, ho, let’s sing together:

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

And it's been so long
But I will be there
I sing this song
To pass the time away
Driving in my car
Driving home for Christmas

It′s gonna take some time, but I′ll get there
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

 So I sing for you

Though you can′t hear me
When I get through
And feel you near me
Driving in my car
I'm driving home for Christmas

Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories
I take a look at the driver next to me
He′s just the same
Just the same

Top to toe in tailbacks
Oh, I got red lights all around
I'm driving home for Christmas, yeah
Get my feet on holy ground

So I sing for you
Though you can′t hear me
When I get through
Oh and feel you near me
Driving in my car
Driving home for Christmas

Driving home for Christmas
With a thousand memories
I take look at the driver next to me
He's just the same
He's driving home, driving home

… a christmas miracle, if you will …

Chris Rea told the story behind this song during an interview to The Guardian in 2016: 

“It was 1978, coming up to Christmas. And it was all over for me: I was just about out of my record contract, and my manager had just told me he was leaving me.

I just needed to get home to Middlesbrough from London, but the record company wouldn’t pay for a rail ticket, and I was banned from driving.

In our old Austin Mini my wife drove all the way down from Middlesbrough to Abbey Road studios to pick me up, and we set off back straight away. Then it started snowing and we stucked in traffic.

Jokingly, I started singing: ‘we’re driving home for Christmas...’ then, when street lights shone inside the car, I started writing down lyrics.

We got home at 3am. It was so cold inside the house that the snow tumbled on to the doormat and didn’t melt.

What a surprise, there was one letter … from PRS America. My song Fool (If You Think It’s Over) had been a hit in the US, so there was a cheque for £15,000. We went from being down to being able to buy a house.”

Chris Rea regarding the song: 

“I’d never intended to write a Christmas hit. I was a serious musician! So initially, the song came out on a B-side.

A DJ flipped it over and started playing it, so my bandmate Max suggested we re-record it and add some strings. Max played the distinctive jazzy intro, we did a classic 1950s christmas carol-type arrangement, and loved it. At first, it was another radio hit – but then it started re-entering the Top 40 every year.”

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