Olivia Rodrigo has released Take Me Home (4 Christmas), her first ever ‘holiday single’. Written with regular collaborators Dan Nigro and Amy Allen, it’s available now.
Given Rodrigo’s habit of blending naughtiness and niceness in her lyrics, it’s no surprise that this tale of a yuletide visit to her partner’s parents’ house covers wholesomeness (gift giving, baking), awkwardness (a potential mother-in-law walking in and seeing Rodrigo in her underwear) and just a hint of debauchery (heavy drinking and hangovers).
And when it comes to the music, there are echoes of another festive song: The Waitresses’ 1981 banger Christmas Wrapping. There’s a similar ‘80s new wave groove, and Rodrigo’s vocal delivery also seems to nod to it.
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It’s only a ‘vibe’ that Take Me Home (4 Christmas) borrows, though, and the heartwarming news for Rodrigo is that The Waitresses’ Chris Butler, who wrote, produced and played guitar on Christmas Wrapping, has already voiced his support for her effort.
Writing on Facebook, Butler revealed that the star actually got in touch with him a couple of months ago: “I received a weird email from someone claiming to be ‘Olivia Rodrigo,’” he explained. “It was filled with Waitresses gush, and just had to be fake. Said she’d written a Christmas song, and invited me to hear it.”
As well as being unsure about the email’s authenticity, Butler says he had no idea who Rodrigo was, and so set about educating himself. “I did a deep dig. Wow…what a career,” he writes.
Trusting that the email might have been from the real Rodrigo, Butler decided to write back, thanking her for her “sweet and flattering” comments and praising her own work.
“I like you,” he began (always a good start). “I like your music. I like the arrangements especially. Soft-loud-soft, etc. And that your recordings sound like people are playing on them. I like that you’re insisting on/demanding that you be recognised as a songwriter. I like that you have women in your band. I like that your lyrics are intense, real, and poetic. I like that you ‘got’ my songwriting, and that you like our band. I like that you were smart enough to hold on to your masters when you signed your deal. I like that you are you, and will growgrowgrow [sic]. And I would be honoured to hear your Christmas song.”
Presumably, Rodrigo then sent the song over to Butler, because he says: “Her song was/is great. It’s going to be a smash, maybe even [the winner of] that elusive Christmas #1 contest they have every year in the UK.”
Butler goes on to say that Rodrigo later reached out to him and asked if he’d come to her Daisy Chain Fields festival, which took place in August. He couldn’t make that date, but she really wanted to meet him, and he did eventually catch up with her backstage at her recent show in Columbus, Ohio, which was part of her ongoing Unraveled tour. He describes Rodrigo as “a delight”.
And you never know: given that ‘Olivia does remixes now’, perhaps some kind of collaborative mash-up between the two artists could be on the cards between now and 25 December.
Oh, and speaking of songs taking inspiration from other songs, it’s also worth noting that Tracy Wormworth, who played bass on Christmas Wrapping, has freely admitted that she was channelling a disco classic when she came up with her part.
“At the time, Good Times by Chic was out and, for bass players, Bernard Edwards’ badass bassline was iconic,” she told The Guardian in 2020. “I wasn’t trying to rip it off, but I was heavily inspired by it.”
