Song of the Day: 12-26-2024
The Walkmen: "Holiday Road" (Lindsey Buckinham Cover) w/ bonus from Matt Pond PA
Lindsey Buckingham wrote “Holiday Road” in 1983 at the request of Harold Ramis, for the soundtrack of National Lampoon’s Vacation. The song was not featured in the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation soundtrack, though the two covers below might make you think otherwise.
The juxtaposition of these two versions of “Holiday Road” get at the joy / melancholy of the holiday season. The range of the song is incredible in that way—how it can go from a rockling anthem to a sad reflective song about the nature of memory?
The lyrics to the song are remarkably simple, but it is that rhyming couplet in the second verse that really swoons with the Americana of the track (watch the opening credits of the film and you’ll see just how much Buckingham nailed it).
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Take a ride on the West Coast kick
Here Buckingham pairs a nursery rhyme with what appears to be an original phrase (a West Coast kick). What is more American than a West Coast kick? . . . this is a line that you can imagine a touring band like Fleetwood Mac using quite frequently. It also fits sports teams, politicians, and of course, the all-American family vacation.
I think everyone involved was surprised by how good the song and the film(s) merged together . . . and as to the lasting impression of the song—I think the covers below speak for themselves.
"Holiday Road"
I found out long ago
It's a long way down the holiday road
Holiday road
Holiday road
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Take a ride on the West Coast kick
Holiday road
Holiday road
Holiday road
Holiday road
I found out long ago
It's a long way down the holiday road
Holiday road
Holiday road
Holiday road
Holiday road
About the Song of the Day:
Another form of my favorite form of cycles are song-cycles—song-cycles of great albums, and of course song-cycles of mixes. I have made cycles of mixes for friends for years—Mix-tapes in high-school and college—Mix-cds in grad-school and beyond. Now that cds have lost a bit of their shine in the wake of streaming services, I’ve struggled to find my footing with sharing mixes with friends. My goal here is to share songs that culminate in mixes—one song a day until a mix is completed. I will then post the complete mix and then begin a new cycle.