Every year for the past eight years, the Killers have released a Christmas song to benefit the (RED) campaign and raise money in the fight against AIDS. While celebrities such as Elton John and Owen Wilson have previously joined the rock band for their Christmas singles, this year’s song, “Joel the Lump of Coal,” was co-written by late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel.
The song tells the story of an undesirable aspect of the Christmas festivities: the lump of coal that is delivered to naughty children.
“With Christmas, you feel like everything has been done, and I think that’s part of the fun of it,” Kimmel told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s really a challenge just to squeeze one more drop out of that bar rag that has been squeezed a hundred thousand times. There aren’t too many things left to sing about when it comes to Christmas, and coal seemed to be the last one of them.”
“Joel, the Lump of Coal” communicates the importance of giving rather than receiving. The song, which is set to a tune similar to the Christmas classic "Jolly Old St. Nicholas," is on YouTube and can be downloaded on iTunes, with all proceeds going to the (RED) campaign.
Email: mjones@deseretdigital.com