Lyle Moraine / 2:29
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Phil Upchurch: guitar
David Hidalgo: mandolin
Donnie Herron: steel guitar
Patrick Warren: piano
Tony Garnier: upright bass
George G. Receli: drums
Amanda Barrett, Abby DeWald, and Nicole Eva Emery: backup vocals
Recording Studio
Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: May 2009
Technical Team
Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan)
Sound Engineer: David Bianco
The main character of this song would like to spend Christmas on Australia’s Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. He would “like to hang a stocking on a great big coconut tree,” and see Santa Claus bring presents in a canoe. This song, composed by Lyle Moraine in 1946, became a massive commercial success a few months later when the Andrews Sisters performed it, accompanied by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians. Other versions followed, including Jimmy Buffett’s in 1996.
Dylan takes some pleasure singing this song of an exotic Christmas. In the intro played by Donnie Herron on steel guitar, the music immediately moves away from the traditional Christmas atmosphere. Dylan’s cover is inspired by the Andrews Sisters’ version, but is closer to the style of a more modern incarnation, that of the Puppini Sisters. Dylan sings the lyrics with a light and amused tone, supported by his formidable backup vocalists. The group provides an excellent swing accompaniment, and Donnie Herron and Phil Upchurch play solos, respectively, on steel and lead guitar.