"Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" is a song written and performed by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, released on his 1978 album '' Blue Valentine''.''Blue Valentine'' track listing
– Tom Waits Official Website – accessed May 31, 2010

Lyrics

"Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" has been described as a " laconic first-person sketch". The song's lyrics narrate a letter written by a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

to a man named Charlie. She reveals that she is pregnant, says she has quit alcohol and drugs, describes her current living circumstances (including her stable relationship with a new husband who promises to raise her arriving baby like he would his own son), and outlines the better choices she would make if she "still had all the money we used to spend on dope". At the song's conclusion, the author confesses to Charlie that she has been lying to him; she does not have a husband, is currently serving time in prison, and will be eligible for

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

Personnel

– lead vocal, acoustic piano *Da Willie Gonga (

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

) – electric grand piano

Live performances

In the late 1970s, Waits often performed "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" as a medley with "

Goin' Out Of My Head "Goin' Out of My Head" is a song written by Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein, initially recorded by Little Anthony and the Imperials in 1964. Randazzo, a childhood friend of the group, wrote the song especially for them, having also supplied ...

," originally recorded by

Little Anthony & the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

, and "

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

," the popular

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

."Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis" lyrics
– Tom Waits Library – accessed October 7, 2016 For a performance in New York on November 21, 1985, Waits introduced the song with the following anecdote:

Reception

Denise Sullivan Denise Sullivan is an American music journalist, cultural worker and reporter, author of several music biographies including the critically acclaimed music-history book, ''Keep on Pushing: Black Power Music from Blues to Hip-hop'', and editor of t ...

, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, described "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" as " e of Tom Waits' most beloved songs from one of his more obscure albums... The song showcases Waits playing a barroom piano melody, weaving words together -- in essence, doing what he does best in one long, bittersweet song."

Cover versions

"Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" has been covered by a number of notable bands and artists, including Interzone in 1981,

Magnapop Magnapop is an American rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries o ...

in 1995 for '' Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits'',

Kacey Jones Gail Zeiler (April 27, 1950 – September 1, 2016), known professionally as Kacey Jones, was an American singer-songwriter, producer and humorist. After co-writing the Mickey Gilley hit " I'm the One Mama Warned You About" (credited as Gayle Zei ...

in 2000,

Wolfgang Ambros Wolfgang Ambros is an Austrian singer-songwriter. He is one of the most important contemporary Austrian musicians and is considered to be one of the founders of Austropop. Life 1952–1970 Wolfgang Ambros was born in the Semmelweisklin ...

in 2000, David Broza in 2001, and

Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character, he appears in all seven chronicles of the series. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion, and is described as the King of Beasts, the ...

in 2005. Neko Case's cover version, featured on the Tom Waits

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New Coat of Paint ''New Coat of Paint'' is the title of a tribute album to Tom Waits, released in 2000 by Manifesto Records. The songs are performed by various artists. Track listing All songs written by Tom Waits. Performers are listed for each track. # "Whist ...

'' (2002), received critical praise. Denise Sullivan, writing for

, wrote that "her fragile but tough delivery, accompanied by "church" organ gave the song a whole new kitschy, " hooker with a heart of gold" dimension."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis Songs written by Tom Waits 1978 songs Tom Waits songs Song recordings produced by Bones Howe Songs about Minnesota Songs about prostitutes