Driving through the most magical time of the year.

Since Christmas famously comes around every year, Christmas songs also enjoy a reliable boom once a year. The status of Chris Rea's “Driving Home for Christmas” as an evergreen is also backed up by the statistics. The song, which was first released in 1986, reliably returns to the top of the charts year after year. In Germany, for example, the song has been in the top 10 of the singles charts every Christmas since 2017.

Many years ago, Chris Rea told German broadcaster NDR that the idea for the title had already come to him in the late 1970s, when he himself was in the midst of a sea of cars in the run-up to Christmas. And it is probably precisely this autobiographical aspect (which every motorist can likely sympathise with) that makes the song so appealing. And also of course the fact that it describes the modern magic of the Christmas season so very accurately. People who work in retail or nursing will rightly see things differently. But for much of our increasingly fast-paced society, the time between Christmas Eve and the turn of the year represents the ultimate in taking our foot off the gas. Life shifts down two gears – hardly any emails, hardly any appointments, and more time for loved ones.

In his automotive Christmas story, Chris Rea, who has two daughters himself, sends the protagonist on a journey to precisely this cosy Christmas season. He says in the lyrics that he is looking forward to it so much that even the flickering of the brake lights in the inevitable pre-holiday traffic jam suddenly seems to him like the sparkle of Christmas lights. “Top to toe in tailbacks / Oh, I got red lights all around,” he sings cheerfully as he moves forward inch by inch.

And because you always have enough time in stop-and-go traffic to look to the right and to the left, the song ends with these wonderful lines: “I take a look at the driver next to me / He's just the same / He's driving home for Christmas”.

If you don't already have the melody in your ear, have a listen yourself on the way home from your last day of work before Christmas Eve. You will most certainly find the song in the daily recommendation list of your preferred streaming service, if it is not already being played by the radio station of your choice anyway. And if you are still stuck in traffic, you will have no choice but to look around you and smile at everyone who is tingling with anticipation of the upcoming Christmas season (or alternatively at least of Christmas treats), just like you.

Season’s Greetings!