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Meaning Behind The Song Driving Home For Christmas Is So Heartwarming

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Chris Rea died today, leaving behind a legacy of 25 solo albums and several number one hits but most especially, his 1988 Christmas classic Driving Home for Christmas.

The song is regularly on Christmas playlists and is often the soundtrack of people travelling to be closer to their loved ones during the festive season. However, the story behind the song is a little more nuanced than just a festive ditty.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, the singer said: “It was 1978, coming up to Christmas. 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.”

He did have to take a long drive…

He went on to say: “My wife got in our old Austin Mini, 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. We had £220 and I was fiddling with it all the way home.”

A far cry from the wholesome road trip depicted in his song, their drive home was actually quite frustrating. Chris and his wife kept getting stuck in traffic, gazing over at other miserable drivers and struggling to get home.

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

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Their arrival home was life-changing

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

“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 our last £220 to being able to buy a house.”

A Christmas miracle, if you will.

The song was shelved for almost a decade

After encouragement from his bandmate Max, Chris revisited his old festive 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.

“Then a DJ flipped it over and started playing it, so 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.”

Once he got past his ego, Chris indulged in the song with the rest of us.

“I used to be terrified the song would ruin any credibility I had left, but now we have a laugh with it.

“If I’m ever stuck on the M25 – the Road to Hell – I’ll wind the window down and start singing, “I’m driving home for Christmas” at people in cars alongside. They love it. It’s like giving them a present.”

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