I apologise if you have been misled by my title: there is no gravy recipe available in this post for you. However, you should also be thankful that you have happened across this post. Not only will it inadvertently prevent you from making and eating gravy (bad for the arteries), but my healthier suggestion is good for the ears…meaning it’s a great song. Written and performed by Paul Kelly, a Adelaide-born, Melbourne-based musician you would be forgiven if you had never heard about him living out of Australia. Having said that, his music is highly underrated – both in Australia and abroad. His quintessential Australian references and ability to place the listener at the centre of his stories makes him exceptional for me. But don’t just take my word – below is my analysis of his song, ‘How to Make Gravy’. Its relevance to Christmas will be revealed.
More broadly, there are parallels to be made between the letter – written by the song’s protagonist – and newer forms of communication: such as the blog post. When formerly a letter would allow singular peer-to-peer dialogue, the blog, which has the capacity to communicate similar content, this transforms the communication pathways from one-to-one to one-to-many. Similarly, traditional notions of time are distorted thanks to the availability of updating, refreshing and constantly editing original pieces written at a set time. This subsequent censorship means that authenticity on the internet is often lost in the pursuit for perfection. It also means that traditional forms of communication, and their inherent inconveniences (inability to edit, etc) provide rich and insightful perspectives due to their imperfections.
Hello Dan, it’s Joe here
I hope you’re keeping well
Its the 21st of December
now they’re ringing the last bell
if I get good behaviour
I’ll be out of here by July
Won’t you kiss my kids on Christmas day
From the opening greeting, the song is structured in a letter format. By stating the date, ‘it’s the 21st of December,’ the environment, even the weather is contextualised for the listener.
The reference to ‘good behaviour’ suggests ‘Joe’, the writer of the letter, is in jail. Kelly builds tension through the mentioning his absence at Christmas and how this will affect his children.
Please don’t let them cry for me
I guess the brothers are driving down from Queensland and Stella’s flying in from the coast
They say it’s gonna be a hundred degrees, even more maybe, but that
won’t stop the roast
Who’s gonna make the gravy now?
I bet it won’t taste the same
Just add flour, salt, a little red wine and don’t forget a dollop of
tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang
Kelly then mentions his family and the usual Christmas arrangements that are made, as well as reminding the audience of the Australian Christmas climate. The double meaning for this sentence is that more deeply, life continues after a major event – in this case, incarceration – and nothing will halt the passage of time. The protagonists’ place in the family, as the gravy maker, poses questions far more significant than his own, ‘who’s gonna make the gravy now?’ Indeed, his question represents his removal from the family and how they will cope emotionally without him.
And give my love to Angus, and to Frank and Dolly,
Tell ’em all I’m sorry, I screwed up this time
And look after Rita, I’ll be thinking of her early Christmas morning
When I’m standing in line
I hear Mary’s got a new boyfriend, I hope he can hold his own
Do you remember the last one? What was his name again?
(Just a little too much cologne)
And Roger, you know I’m even gonna miss Roger
‘Cause there’s sure as hell no one in here I want to fight
After considering the inevitability of change, the character sends his regards (and simultaneously makes references to) other members of his family, asking for their forgiveness, ‘I screwed up this time,’ for what resulted in his incarceration. The following line, ‘I hear Mary’s got a new boyfriend,’ emphasises how his family is undergoing change which he will not be a witness to. The reader is encouraged to assume that ‘Roger’ did not get along with the protagonist, but in comparison to jail he will ‘even miss’ him.
Oh praise the Baby Jesus, have a Merry Christmas,
I’m really gonna miss it, all the treasure and the trash
And later in the evening, I can just imagine,
You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back
And you’ll dance with Rita, I know you really like her,
Just don’t hold her too close, oh brother please don’t stab me in the
back
I didn’t mean to say that, it’s just my mind it plays up,
Multiplies each matter, turns imagination into fact
You know I love her badly, she’s the one to save me,
I’m gonna make some gravy, I’m gonna taste the fat
Tell her that I’m sorry, yeah I love her badly, tell ’em all I’m
sorry
And kiss the sleepy children for me
You know one of these days, I’ll be making gravy,
I’ll be making plenty, I’m gonna pay ’em all back.
The final part of the song exposes the psychological ramifications that prison has had on the main figure of the song, ‘Joe’, when he asks his brother to not ‘hold her too close,’ that is, start a relationship with her while he is in prison. This paranoia is then admitted by ‘Joe’, who, hopeful, proclaims he will redeem himself ‘I’ll be making gravy’ and regain his life, ‘I’m gonna taste the fat’ as well as the relationships he has severed: ‘I’m gonna pay ’em all back.’
Credit: Paul Kelly
a white-hot christmas 
