On December 8, 2023 Angelina Jordan Official/Republic Records/UMG released her new 5-song Christmas album, Driving Home for Christmas. I think the first song, Driving Home for Christmas, may have been recorded this year, while the other 4 holiday tunes were taken from her live-streamed Christmas Concert Dec 23, 2021 during the pandemic.
I hadn’t heard of this song before and loved it. This popular holiday tune was written and recorded by Chris Rea in 1986. I did some research and was surprised to discover he’d also written and performed the 1978 hit song, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), which I remembered and enjoyed.
Here are videos of Angelina Jordan and Chris Rea singing ‘Driving Home for Christmas’. Chris explained he wrote the song during a snowstorm on the drive home for Christmas. He misplaced it, forgot it, rediscovered and recorded it for fun, and surprisingly, without promotion, it later became a seasonal favorite. It was voted the UK’s favorite Christmas song, and is considered to be one of their top 10 Christmas singles. I can see why. It is a very catchy tune about people driving home for Christmas. Chris Rea and Angelina Jordan also sing this song on Spotify.
This song was broadcast Dec 25, 1986 in the UK appropriately on Christmas Day. Read the music video’s notes detailing the song’s release dates and ratings in different countries over the years. TopPop have now remastered it in HD and posted it Dec 19, 2023. Enjoy listening to Chris Rea – Driving Home For Christmas [REMASTERED HD] • TopPop
Here is a longer version: Rock ‘n’ roll survivor, slide player and all-round top guy Chris Rea tells The One Show how “Driving Home For Christmas” came about. Interesting how he first got the idea for the song at Abbey Road Studios and returned years later, successful, to record it with added strings. How Chris Rea wrote “Driving Home For Christmas”.
When Elliott (Christopher), a young fisherman with a hidden talent and an extraordinary voice gets discovered at a party by Suzanne, a high-profile music producer who is willing to give him the chance of a lifetime, he must decide if he is ready to open himself up to stardom — and love.
It doesn’t matter who you are. What really does is who you become.
One of the main messages of the film comes out when Suzanne responds to her business partner’s doubts about Elliott. She sees his raw talent, his great potential, and assures Patrick: “It doesn’t matter who you are. The important thing is who you can become.”
“Who do you sing for when you sing?”
Suzanne asks her estranged daughter Lilly, who also heard Elliott sing, to collaborate with him, to produce his music. Their personalities clash and they get off to a rocky start. One of the first things Lilly asks him is, “Who do you sing for when you sing?” Puzzled, Elliott offers no answer.
She explains what makes a song significant, how to communicate it to an audience for it to resonate with them. This insider information is new to Elliott who listens without responding, taking it all in. This is the creative core that will powerfully manifest in the final scene and song of the film. Here is that explanation.
Imagine there’s someone you’re singing to. Someone you’re singing for.
“A song doesn’t just exist. It comes to life. Between two people. One who sings and one who listens. Whether you’re here in the studio or in a big, packed stadium with thousands of fans. You’re not performing for nothing. You have to choose a person, or you have to imagine there’s someone you’re singing to. Someone you’re singing for. If you’re not singing for anyone, then it’s all the same. Then, the song doesn’t exist. Then you don’t exist.”
The song is powerful because it personalizes the universal cycle of life, love, and loss into a story, expressing feelings an audience can relate to.
This is songwriting at its best. One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. It put a lump in my throat and moved me to tears. It is so good it deserves a Grammy award and at least an Oscar nod if not a win!
A Beautiful Life
"Baby, I'm pregnant" she said
And I saw my whole life
Flash before my eyes
So much for planning ahead
We gon' be all right
There won't be a right time
Oh, I said, "I am way too young"
I'm just a kid, I can't raise one
It feels like my life is over
Feels like my future's crushed
And I'm gonna miss the times when
It was just the two of us
I don't ever want to let go
Of everything that I love
It sure feels like dying
Saying goodbye
To my beautiful life
"Daddy, I can't sleep," she said
Can you leave the light on?
And please sing me my song
And I can't help but think to myself
Those green eyes and brown curls
Turned into my whole world
She's growing up so fast
If only I could make it last
It feels like my life is over
Feels like my future's crushed
'Cause my baby's getting older
Tomorrow she'd be all grown up
I don't ever want to let go
Of everything that I love
I turn off the light
And say goodnight
To my beautiful life
Pack the bags and ready to go
We look at each other
She looks like her mother
Off to chase dreams of her own
She cries in the backseat
As we wave at the taxi
Oh, our baby's moving out
Leaving this home an empty house
Feels like my life is over
Feels like my future's crushed
And I'm gonna miss the times when
It was just the three of us
I don't ever want to let go
Of everything that I love
It sure feels like dying
Saying goodbye
To my beautiful life
To my beautiful life
"Baby, I'm pregnant" she said
And I saw my whole life
Flash before my eyes
You can listen to the other songs in the film's Soundtrack on Spotify. Or choose your own music service at https://christopher.lnk.to/ABeautifulLife. And visit Christopher's YouTube channel for excerpts of songs from the film.
A Beautiful Life Official Music Video
Today, on June 8th, Christopher premiered a new Official Music Video for the film on his YouTube channel with A Beautiful Life. He also posted a short video of the making of the music video: Christopher - A Beautiful Life Music Video (Behind The Scenes). Warner Music Canada posted: Christopher - A Beautiful Life (Full Album From Netflix Film).
“The essence of the movie”
The next day I found this June 5th video on Netflix Nordic — A Beautiful Life: Get to Know Christopher & Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. This is one of the questions they were asked, “Which scene are you most proud of?”
Christopher mentions his favorite scene with Inga to her. “It’s when you tell Elliott that a song doesn’t exist on its own. You don’t exist if you don’t have anybody to sing to. To me that’s the essence of the movie. The film is first and foremost a music movie. And you’re the one teaching Elliott to have someone to sing to. And that’s important, because if you don’t, no one can relate to it, and making music doesn’t matter. And he doesn’t have anyone. Not until the moment he looks at her and decides to write it for her. I think that’s very special. And I just sit quietly throughout the entire scene. It’s just you doing a monologue.”
Beautifully encapsulated! Christopher confirms what I mentioned under “Who do you sing for when you sing?” This is one of the most crucial and pivotal scenes in the film. It is, as he says, “the essence of the movie.”
The first time Christopher performed ‘A Beautiful Life’ at a concert
It turns out Christopher had performed ‘A Beautiful Life’ at the Seoul Jazz Festival 2023 in Korea. It was the first encore of the evening. He introduced the song, telling the audience it was the title track for an upcoming Netflix film. Seated at the piano, he confessed that he had never played it live before, then proceeded to sing it for them. Once the audience settled down, you could hear a pin drop. When the song was over they roared their approval, a welcome relief to a smiling Christopher. Everyone had a great time, especially Christopher and his band. He posted the whole May 27, 2023 concert on his channel.
Acoustic versions from ‘A Beautiful Life’ in Christopher’s tiny boat
Christopher posted three videos of him singing acoustic versions of the songs from the film with Gustav Wolter also on guitar: Led Me To You, Hope This Song Is For You, A Beautiful Life. He wrote: Busking around in the canals of beautiful Copenhagen ✨ Had to do the acoustic versions on the water in my tiny boat, as a tribute to Elliott 😉🙏🏼 Hope you enjoy ❤️🔥
Christopher later released a fourth acoustic version from his tiny boat: Honey I’m So High.
Dingo Music produce video of film’s 3 songs sung for Sound Lounge
That was followed on June 15 with Live – A Beautiful Life (AFTER PARTY) where Christopher talked about and played songs from the movie with Gustav (guitar) and Matias (keyboard) (31:10). I was lucky to see it on Replay, but it was later taken down since it was only for Premium members. YouTube had offered it as a free trial, so I guess you still have to sign up to see it. If they later release it, at 18:52 the guys leave Christopher who then shares a personal story of how he came to write ‘A Beautiful Life’ and the pivotal role it would play in the film when he sang it to Mehdi, the director. It was over 2 1/2 years ago when his wife told him she was pregnant, and his whole life flashed before him. He wrote the song that night. He performs it on the piano and then takes questions. At 27:42 he’s asked what was his favorite track from the movie and answers ‘A Beautiful Life’. But he then tells the story of how he wrote and recorded ‘Ready To Go‘ one night on the tour bus. It was too late to make it into the movie, but it’s on the soundtrack.
On July 6, 2023, Christopher posted the Lyric Video for A Beautiful Life from the Netflix film, which contains clips from the film, the official music video, and a live concert singing this beautiful song.
I enjoy listening to songwriters talk about their creative process—how they approach the task of writing a song, the kind of strategies they use.
How Don Henley writes his songs
I recently watched a 92nd Street Y interview posted on YouTube in 2015. American Rock royalty Billy Joel and Eagles drummer and singer-songwriter Don Henley covered a lot of ground in 85 minutes. One of the things Joel asked Henley about was what does he do to get himself into the space where he can write songs.
Don tells Billy how he may hole up in a cabin, or somewhere where he won’t be disturbed, and shuts out all electronic distractions. He also says he doesn’t just sit there and write; he can’t force the words to come. He says he follows the zen-like advice to do a simple task first.
He tells the audience, “I’m dead serious. I’ve written some of my best stuff loading and unloading the dishwasher! Because you’re distracted and yet you’re not. I don’t know how to explain this. But, and I’ve read, you know, zen masters talking about the same sort of thing—if you can just do a menial task instead of sitting there with a pen and paper, in front of you going, (he clenches his fists and grunts).” That part of this fascinating discussion starts at 57:14 in the embedded video below.
How Lissie writes her songs
That reminds me of the exact same thing Lissie said in The A-Sides Interview. She discusses how she is learning to balance art with commerce, and spontaneity with structure. Describing her creative process she usually comes up with a melody, sometimes working with other musicians, then later writes the lyrics alone.
When writing lyrics, she’s “careful to not force it” and is always surprised when rhyming phrases pop into her head “if I’m doing the dishes, or if I’m walking.” That’s when she’s presented with newer better word choices she hadn’t thought of.
Lissie emphasizes finding a balance “being spontaneous, yet structured.” That part, and more, of this interesting interview starts at 4:58 in the embedded video below.
How Colin Hay writes his songs
Another singer-songwriter I had discovered and recently wrote about is Colin Hay. When it comes to writing songs he says he likes to have as empty a mind as possible and puts himself in a space where he won’t be interrupted. He emphasizes that time is important, to give himself enough time to fail. He describes a scene where he’s all alone for 3 or 4 hours without any distractions, just sitting with his acoustic guitar doing nothing, just idling, coming up with musical ideas.
At other times, a friend may drop by and mention something in passing that will act as a catalyst to what he’s been thinking about. It triggers the melody, and then the words spontaneously come out in one take. In those cases he’ll quickly finish a song in under an hour. That’s how he wrote Waiting for my Real Life to Begin.
Colin explains this to Brooke Baldwin in a 2011 CNN interview when she asks him where he was when he wrote that song, then quotes some of the lyrics to him. That part starts at 3:52 in the embedded video below.
TM, creativity, and the default mode network
Our minds are usually working on a particular problem, consciously and unconsciously. I’ve had the same thing happen to me when I’m writing a poem or a blog post and reach an impasse. I give up, let it go, and, surprisingly, the right solution later presents itself when I least expect it.
Science calls that place in our brains the default mode network (DMN), a.k.a. the imagination network or genius lounge. It’s activated when the mind is daydreaming, not engaged or concentrating on anything, just “idling” as Colin Hay put it. The key is to be easy. Focusing or “forcing it” turns it off.
Interestingly, the DMN is also activated during the effortless practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique as practitioners experience a state of “restful alertness.” Sometimes great ideas may show up during, but more likely after TM, what David Lynch calls, “Catching the Big Fish.” He often tells students, “TM is a boon for the filmmaker.” It facilitates access to one’s inner resources to create and think out of the box.
Jon Bon Jovi says washing dishes brings on hit songs
Addendum: Jon Bon Jovi, who loves doing TM, shared the same experience as Don Henley and Lissie on Monday night’s A Late Show with Stephen Colbert when they discussed the events that influenced his new album, Bon Jovi 2020. He told Colbert how the song Do What You Can came about when he was washing dishes in one of their JBJ Soul Kitchens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bon Jovi concluded, “Washing dishes brings on hit songs, Stephen.”
On October 23, 2014, Sir Paul McCartney visited Rollins College at the invitation of Rollins Winter Park Institute Senior Distinguished Fellow Billy Collins. In this interview Paul shares some interesting stories from his life as a Beatle, how he wrote songs with John Lennon and by himself. He answered students’s questions and concluded by singing Blackbird.
Nancy Shevell’s son, Arlen, Paul’s stepson, was a student at Rollins at the time. The following year, at Arlen’s private graduation party in May 2015, Paul had asked to sing with the local band Nancy had hired. Josh Walther and The Phase5 Bandshared their amazement online!
Hafiz’s poem, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, of leaving something behind in the world to inspire others, is exemplified in the singer-songwriting musical skills of the late Jesse Winchester. Read Hafiz’s poem, Leave something in the marketplace, then listen and be moved when Jesse sings this love song, Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding.
Leave something in the marketplace
Sometimes it can happen to these cheeks when a poem visits my mind for the first time and begins to look around.
They can wonder why rain is falling on them, and causing my nose to run too.
O boy, what a mess love makes of me. But there is nothing else right now I would rather
be doing . . . than reaping something from a field in another dimension
and leaving it in the marketplace for any who might happen by.
Leave something in the marketplace for us before you leave this world.
Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) left many beautiful songs for us in the marketplace (IMDb). Jesse appeared on Week 2 of Elvis Costello’s TV show, Spectacle. Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, Sheryl Crow, and Neko Case joined Jesse Winchester to perform “Payday“. Jesse also a sang about the sweet shyness of young love. Listen to the poetic melodic musings of Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Dingas it wets your cheeks and lifts your mouth into a wistful smile.
I first met Jesse in Montreal at a friend’s place during the summer of ’67. He had been drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, which he did not support, and came to Canada instead. He stayed and made a name for himself as a fine singer-songwriter.
Robbie Robertson of The Band produced Jesse’s first album. But he couldn’t return to the states to tour until after all “draft dodgers” were pardoned by President Carter. I remember him singing The Brand New Tennesse Waltz and Yankee Lady, which ended up on his self-titled debut album. I also liked Say What (Talk Memphis), which became a hit. Mississippi You’re On My Mind (Learn to Love It) is another beautiful, vividly-written song.
Many top recording artists would go on to perform Jesse’s songs, and he became known as a first-rate songwriter. Even Bob Dylan was famously quoted as saying of Mr. Winchester: “You can’t talk about the best songwriters and not include him. If you know me well, you know I think Jesse IS the very best.” Lyle Lovett also spoke highly of him. In 2007, a special musical tribute was given to singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, when he was honored with The ASCAP Foundation Life in Music Award.
You can’t talk about the best songwriters and not include him. If you know me well, you know I think Jesse IS the very best. — Bob Dylan
Decades later, I went to one of Jesse’s concerts on his tour through Iowa. He was surprised to find me here. It was sweet to see him again, now free to play in the states and accept the recognition for his great talent.
Remembering Jesse Winchester
Here is some news coverage of Jesse’s recent passing, reviewing his life and career, in The Commercial Appeal, USA Today, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and C-Ville Weekly. From all his fans, and friends who knew him, I’m sure they would agree with Hafiz that Jesse Winchester did leave a lot of good music in the marketplace, and love in their hearts. You did well, Jesse. We thank you!
Jesse Winchester Radio Special: Listen to a special 2007 radio interview and music special with Jesse Winchester recorded by Donna Green-Townsend for WUFT-FM before Jesse’s scheduled performance at the Butterfly Festival in Gainesville, FL. In this program Jesse talked about his early years in Mississippi and Memphis, the inspiration for many of his songs and what he thinks about the music industry today. He also talks about the number of artists who have recorded many of his songs including The Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Wynonna Judd, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Reba McEntire, and Elvis Costello to name a few. RIP Jesse.
Roots Music Canada uploaded a Jesse Winchester interview on April 13, 2010 with RMC’s editor-in-chief David Newland, from Hugh’s Room, Toronto, a venue Jesse launched about a decade ago, and one for which he has the highest regard.
September 2, 2014: Rolling Stone: Hear the Late Jesse Winchester’s Chilling Dissertation on Dying — Song Premiere. “Every Day I Get the Blues” appears on the final album by Winchester, who died April 11th. A Reasonable Amount of Trouble, is a gentle collection of playful songs about love, memory and gratitude that amounts to one of the most moving, triumphant albums of Winchester’s 45-year career.
Previous inductees include: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Howlin’ Wolf, Sam Phillips, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Willie Mitchell, Carla Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, The Staple Singers, and the ‘Father of The Blues’ W.C. Handy.
The Uncarved Blog 