Yule love this ride on Xmas gravy train
AUSTRALIAN singer-songwriter Paul Kelly’s iconic ballad How To Make Gravy is set to become a Christmas film.
Movie studio Warner Bros. has secured rights to develop the song into a yuletide film.
Written by Kelly and first released in 1996, the song tells the story of a prisoner named Joe who writes to his brother Dan about his longing to be with family at Christmas.
A delighted Kelly said: “Dan and Joe and Rita and Angus and Dolly and all the others have been stuck inside that song so long, I’m glad they’re going to get a chance to live life a different way.”
The studio’s Michael Brooks said: “In Australia, December 21 is known as Gravy Day. Few songs have risen to cult status and secured a date on the festive calendar, which is why Paul Kelly’s How to Make Gravy is so special.”
Kelly re-recorded the song for his Christmas Train album, released last year.
“I think people love it because it’s not a perfect Christmas, it’s chaotic and not everyone wants to be there,” he said.
“And people wonder about the backstory of all the characters. I get asked a lot what was Joe’s crime or who Angus and Dolly are in the family.”
“I’m a fan of Christmas music. It’s a rich tradition that gets overlooked because we tend to hear the same carols and pop songs over and over again, which is great, but there are other good songs out there in folk music, other cultures, and our own traditions.”