About: (Old Friends) Talking On Christmas Eve

There's a great Monty Python sketch where a father tells his son about having to build his castle three times. It's a good analogy for this song.

A melody line was in my head for well over a year. It became a chorus: ("all I want or ever need for Christmas, be it a calm or stormy day, is the smell of Christmas dinner cooking, and a phone call from an old friend far away") which lived for a while but didn’t make the final cut.

The first versions of the verses were written during a February snowstorm. While driving one night, a verse line and melody appeared and I pulled off the road beside Inn On The Lake. The second verse came about 3 klicks later, in the parking lot of the Wellington Fire Hall. I got home, grabbed my guitar and found the chords. It was called “Christmas Phone Call” then.

The next day as the snow continued to fall, the rest of the song took shape. It was my lead song in an application to FACTOR, months later. I thought it might suit a few artists or even a phone company Christmas ad! (Umm! I'd be rich!)


I had asked for a “FACTOR Critique” to be returned to me. The "critique" was a poorly photocopied, off kilter, quarter page with two words beside two boxes to check. One box for lyrics and one for music. (They didn't like either) so my FACTOR application was rejected. RANT: For an organization that is supposed to be seeking out and fostering new talent, I expected a critique that took longer than 2 seconds to "fill out", perhaps one that gave a hint of guidance or encouragement? Perhaps they could have scrawled on the lyric pages provided? I also found it hard to believe that not one note, nor one word, nor one thought in this song had any value whatsoever to that jury. END RANT.

Two years later, I woke up with a new melody in my head that became the next Chorus to this song. The old Verses were tweaked to fit a new 3/4 rhythm and a new chord sequence was added (the Dmin7th. to G). I played it at the very end of an informal Christmas Jam to a long and awkward silence. (= more work to do.) So, I went about building this, the "third castle".

Influences included a Music Nova Scotia Master Songwriting Workshop led by John Capek and Pat Pattison; plus, I hung out with some "activists" for a day (= "hope the earth finds a friend" line) when George W. Bush came to town.

The Bridge came last and even was the chorus for a while. Then, after another long night in a snowstorm in early January 2005, the song became what it is now: “(Old Friends) Talking On Christmas Eve”. I played it for my little song writing group and it was very well received.

PS: I'm lucky, in that I get excellent phone calls from old friends fairly often.

I'll try to pass "Old Friends" on to Mary Chapen Carpenter and Nathan Wiley. Contact me with your ideas on who should record and perform this song.