Hey Mrs. Santa

Artist’s note: Any resemblance to every song ever recorded by the Stray Cats is purely coincidental.

Following in the holiday tradition of my 2020 cover of “Blue Christmas”, my 2021 original “So Sorry Santa“, my 2022 original “Christmas Love Song“, and my 2023 original “Keep Your Hands Off My Tree“, I present another original, just in time for Christmas, titled “Hey Mrs. Santa.”

Yes, another novelty song.

The origin of the song is this: Early in 2024, I was asked by a friend to collaborate with a mutual acquaintance on an original song to be performed by the two of us at a Christmas Eve party hosted by the friend. A few months ago, way ahead of schedule, I wrote what I thought was a nice tune (no lyrics, just chords and a melody) as a starting point, which I shared with my friend and neighbor and frequent collaborator, Peter. He was kind in recommending that I put it on the shelf. It was very melancholy and maybe not the best option for a Christmas party performance. So Peter and I (mostly Peter) wrote another tune, again with just chords and a melody, no lyrics. I sent this to the acquaintance and …….. nothing. No response.

I could have simply finished that song myself or with Peter, but up through just the weekend before Christmas I thought, well, maybe my ghost collaborator will reach out. Nope.

Two tunes on the shelf.

Then, while simultaneously working on Brand New Key, I came up with a fun (and probably not entirely original) piano bit with a bluesy/rockabilly vibe and thought, well, maybe this could be a Christmas tune.

Initially, the concept was a guy who had the hots for Mrs. Claus and was trying to persuade her into leaving Santa. But then I thought it might be fun if the feelings were mutual and the couple had just the one night every year to, uh, well, you know.

This is the kind of song for which I could probably write 27 verses, then pick the best 3 for the song. But with time running out ahead of my self-imposed Christmas deadline, I landed where I landed lyrically. I’ve been listening to a “steamy blues” playlist recently, and I could have written some pretty racy lyrics, but I held back (mostly).

While I’ve had the basics of this song somewhat worked out on piano for about two weeks, I really banged this whole project out in about 24 hours.

On this recording, you hear drums I programmed using native Garage Band drum samples, mostly repurposed from the cover of Stray Cat Strut I recorded a few years ago, a bass line I played on my Rickenbacker bass, rhythm and lead guitar tracks I played on my Gretsch 2420T 6-string, and a couple of piano tracks I played on my Roland RD-88. You also hear live drum sticks, finger snaps, and real sleigh bells which I picked up several summers ago at a neighbor’s yard sale.

Following my current standard, the cover art for this release is at the top of this page, and the lyrics follow the additional audio format, which I am now limiting to just MP3, below.

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Lyrics

Hey Mrs. Santa, you better put some music on
Santa‘s off on his magic sleigh, and he won’t be back till dawn
Christmas Eve is on my mind the whole year through
Cause it’s the one night of the year I get to spend with you

Hey Mrs. Santa, I threw the elves some money
And while they’re all out spending it, I wanna cuddle with my honey
Mix us up a coupla drinks, and I will start a fire
We’ll raise a glass to your old man and hope he don’t retire

I’ll whisper sweet things in your ear as you watch the flames
Draw the shades, turn down the lights, and let’s play some reindeer games

Hey Mrs. Claus, I want you to be my boss
Hey Mrs. Kringle, you make my sleigh bells jingle

Hey Mrs. Santa, I brought my sack of toys
And since there’s no one else around, we’re gonna make some noise
We just have a few more hours before I’ve gotta go
So slide on over next to me beneath this mistletoe

Santa may not have a clue about our little tryst
But don’t you think he wonders why we’re on his naughty list

Hey Mrs. Claus, I want you to be my boss
Hey Mrs. Kringle, you make my sleigh bells jingle