David Lee Roth gets into the holiday spirit with “Talking Christmas Blues,” a new song that sees the former Van Halen frontman delivering a stream-of-consciousness yuletide story. It’s just the latest release in what has been a busy quarter for the rock legend. Listen to the strange holiday-adjacent track below.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Talking Christmas Blues” does exactly what it says on the tin: Roth delivers his spoken-word story over an acoustic guitar and harmonica. However, the arrangement isn’t particularly bluesy. Nor is it particularly holiday-themed.
[RELATED: David Lee Roth Releases New Version of Van Halen’s “Jump”]
The lyrics, however, do contain some holiday imagery. It’s just a little more bizarre than most yuletide hits. For instance, he sings about dreaming of getting drunk with Santa and elves in the opening verse. Late last night I had a crazy dream / Santa Claus dropped in on me / Santa cracked a jar, we all got trashed / Elves got thrashed / Place got all smashed up./ Events unfolded, tragedy happened, igloo got flattened.
Later in the song, Roth talks about being questioned by Oprah Winfrey about the night’s events. He also mentions lighting a menorah for Hanukkah. At one point, he says it was all “Like a Hallmark Hall of Fame card.”
Roth’s Been Busy
Fans of Diamond Dave have had plenty to be excited about lately. Earlier this week, Roth released a solo rendition of the Van Halen classic “Jump” to YouTube. Fans of the aging rocker gave the song mixed reviews. However, most were just happy to see that he is still recording.
In mid-October, Roth released two songs from a musical he worked on with Marilyn Manson and John 5 in 2007. Unfortunately, Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar & Grill didn’t come to fruition. However, he recorded several songs for the project and seems to be slowly releasing them.
[RELATED: David Lee Roth Releases Upbeat New Archival Solo Song, “Manda Bala”]
First, he released “Manda Bala.” It’s an upbeat pop-rock track with a bit of Latin flavor. The song’s title is a Portuguese phrase that literally means “send a bullet” but, in cultural context, it means “go for it.”
Just days after releasing “Manda Bala,” Roth dropped two versions of a track called “The S–t That Killed Elvis” on YouTube. The acoustic guitar-driven track sees Roth dreaming of living a lavish life like Elvis Presley. I need a super-size mansion / Under constant renovation / Tomb with a view / For world-class procrastination / Death by pizza in perfect isolation.
Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV/ ViacomCBS
