Thank God It's Christmas

Album: Greatest Hits III (1984)
Charted: 21
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Thank God It's Christmas" was mainly written by Queen drummer Roger Taylor. However, when he found himself struggling to come up with a chorus he asked the band's lead guitarist, Brian May, to help him out.

    When the pair finished the tune they presented it to Freddie Mercury. It was the vocalist's ability to pull back for that song which Brian May remembers. He told Ultimate Classic Rock: "(Freddie) loved it and did a beautiful vocal. I think it's just the most understated vocal, and I love it, you know."
  • The song was released on November 27, 1984 and spent six weeks in the UK charts over Christmas 1984 and the New Year of 1985, peaking at #21. Queen were big in the mid-1980s in their home country, so the song's relative lack of success is surprising. May believes this is because they didn't film a promotional video for their festive tune. He said: "The funny thing is, it doesn't get that much attention in Britain as a Christmas single, because it doesn't have a video. Everything's about video these days and we never made a video for that song. It's all in your mind. But I'm very fond of it. I think it's a very different kind of Christmas song."
  • Another contributing factor for the song's relative lack of success was it was released the same time as Band-Aid's charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?."
  • Brian May and Roger Taylor made two demos of the song. While Taylor's demo became Queen's Christmas single in 1984, May's version went to his future wife EastEnders actress Anita Dobson, who released it as "I Dream Of Christmas" in 1987.
  • In 2019, Queen released a touching animated music video for the song depicting a snowy nightime winter scene in a city. Directed and animated by Justin Moon, its concept came directly from Brian May and Roger Taylor.

    "Ironically, Christmas tends to be such a stressful time for so many of us," said Taylor. "So many emotions, joyful memories of past Christmas' as delighted children and responsible adults / parents. It's just a great relief when it finally happens."

    "The video goes a little further," added May, "by including a subtle reminder that we as humans now need to feel a responsibility for the welfare of ALL creatures on Earth - not just for our own benefit, and that of our grandchildren, but out of respect for the rights of the animals themselves."

Comments: 1

  • Susan Myrick from Kennewick, WaI love this song and the little video. So true for this year especially when we have our lives turned upside down with the virus!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.