Please Daddy
Posted December 20th, 2006 by matt.
Last Christmas, when the band was just getting together, before we even had a name, our friend Ed literally bounded up to us, vibrating with visible excitement. “You guys have got to do this John Denver Christmas song.”
Oh, we told him, we’re actually already working on “Christmas for Cowboys,” and it sounds really nice.
“No, you have to hear this one. It’s called ‘Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas).’”
Well, a song with a title like that pretty much sells itself, doesn’t it? A quick check of “Rocky Mountain Christmas” later, and we were hooked. Our first response, like I imagine yours will be, was hilarity, but in light of John Denver’s life story, it soon began to seem a bit more poignant, which (let’s be honest) is Ten Years Too Late’s bread and butter.
Just today, doing a Google search to find out more about the song, I found that it’s no longer quite the undiscovered gem we thought it was. The fricking Decemberists put out a version in November. The Decemberists! Totally copying our idea! I shall choose to be flattered.
So, here it is, for Ed, our tribute to the late, great John Denver, Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas). Enjoy.
This song has such a peppy tune and cadence that it took me ages to reconcile it with the tragic lyrics. I just couldn’t accept that it didn’t have a happy ending! Mama smiles and looks out the window! It’s all going so well! But then…no.
This reminds me of (goshawful) country song by Billy Currington called “Walk a little straighter” about how his father was always drunk. I understand that alcoholism is a sad, tragic disease…but every time I hear the song I burst out laughing.