''How to Make Gravy'' is a four-track EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and was originally released on 4 November 1996 on

White Label Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

in Australia. The title track was written by Kelly and earned him a 'Song of the Year' nomination at the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA) Music Awards of 1998. It tells the story of a newly imprisoned man writing a letter to his brother, in which the prisoner laments that he will be missing the family's Christmas celebrations. The same character appears in two of Kelly's earlier songs, "

To Her Door "To Her Door" is a song by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as a single ahead of their second album, '' Under the Sun'' (released in North America and Europe as by Paul Kelly and the Messengers). The single was released in September ...

" (1987) and "Love Never Runs on Time" (1994). The gravy recipe is genuine – Kelly learnt it from his first father-in-law. It was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne Order of Australia, OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian musician. He achieved fame as the lead singer of Australian Crawl, and subsequently went on to a successful solo career. Biography Early years Reyne was born ...

on a 2003

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

''Stories of Me: A Songwriter's Tribute to Paul Kelly'', and on Reyne's 2005 acoustic album '' And the Horse You Rode in On''. It has also been covered by David Miles,

Luca Brasi Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'', as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime fami ...

, From Nowhere, Semicolon,

Ghostwriters A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hir ...

, Karl Broadie and Lawrence Agar. In September 2010, Kelly titled his memoirs, ''How to Make Gravy''. On 29 September 2012 Kelly performed "How to Make Gravy" and " Leaps and Bounds" at the

2012 AFL Grand Final The 2012 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012. It was the 117th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the Au ...

. A film version was originally set for release as a Christmas movie by Warner Bros in December 2023; however, the movie was delayed to late 2024. It stars

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

and is directed by Nick Waterman. "Gravy Day" (21 December, the day on which the prisoner in the song writes the letter) was created by fans and is celebrated by internet memes each year.

Background

Paul Kelly's album '' Wanted Man'' was released in 1994 and reached No. 11 on the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA) Albums Chart. Note: based on information supplied by ARIA. Kelly also composed music for the 1994 film '' Everynight ... Everynight'', directed by

Alkinos Tsilimidos Alkinos Tsilimidos (born 1966) is an Australian film and theatre director. He has won the Montréal First Film Prize at the Montréal World Film Festival for his 1994 film '' Everynight ... Everynight''. He primarily works as an indie film mak ...

; it is set in the notorious H division of Victoria's Pentridge Prison. Kelly's next solo releases were '' Deeper Water'' in 1995 and '' Live at the Continental and the Esplanade'' in 1996. Between March and May 1995 Kelly undertook a seven-week tour of North America, appearing on several dates with

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to sta ...

and Joe Jackson. By 1996, Paul Kelly Band members were Stephen Hadley (bass guitar, ex-

Black Sorrows The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri (ex-Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons), who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reachin ...

), Bruce Haymes (keyboards),

Peter Luscombe Peter Luscombe is an Australian drummer and composer. Career Luscombe was a member of The Black Sorrows from 1985 to 1993 appearing on the albums ''A Place in the World'' (1986), ''Dear Children'' (1987), ''Hold on to Me'' (1988), ''Harley and ...

(drums, ex-Black Sorrows) and Shane O'Mara (guitar).

Spencer P. Jones Spencer Patrick Jones (28 October 1956 – 21 August 2018) was a New Zealand guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul ...

(slide guitar,

Beasts of Bourbon Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar ( The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Bo ...

) guested on some performances.McFarlane
'Paul Kelly'
entry. Archived fro
the original
on 20 September 2004, retrieved 14 March 2010. This line-up issued the EP ''How to Make Gravy'', with the title track earning Kelly a 'Song of the Year' nomination at the

(APRA) Music Awards of 1998. In August 1996, Kelly performed the song at the

Edmonton Folk Music Festival The Edmonton Folk Music Festival (EFMF) is an annual four-day outdoor music event held the second weekend of August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, established in 1980 by Don Whalen. and a core group of volunteers. The festival continues to draw man ...

, with O'Mara on

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, which was included on ''Edmonton Folk Festival Compilation Album'' (1996). The song was included in 1998 as an extra track on the US release of '' Words and Music'' by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

. That year, "How to Make Gravy" was also issued as a US single but with a different cover: it depicts a roasted fowl on a serving tray held by a smiling woman with the words 'Christmas Single' included. Kelly and his nephew Dan Kelly recorded the song as part of Kelly's A – Z Tours from 2004 to 2010, it was issued on the 8× CD album, '' The A – Z Recordings'' (2010). A drama film, based on the song, is due for release as a Christmas movie by Warner Bros in December 2023.

Composition

"How to Make Gravy" is five minutes and ten seconds long. The song is set in the key of

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

and has a medium

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

with a piano range of B₁–E₅ and a vocal range of B₃–E₅. Kelly is credited with both lyrics and music. The lyrics tell the story of a newly imprisoned man writing a letter to his brother, in which the prisoner laments that he will be missing the family's Christmas celebrations. The same character is the protagonist in earlier songs by Kelly, "

" (1987) (named "Jack" in the album version) and "Love Never Runs on Time" (1994). All three tracks appear on Kelly's live 8× CD

boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

, ''The A – Z Recordings'' (2010). In 1996 Kelly was approached by Lindsay Field, the guitarist and backing vocalist for

John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

, to perform a Christmas-themed song or carol for a various artists charity record, '' The Spirit of Christmas'', to raise money for the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. Kelly originally selected "Christmas Must Be Tonight" by

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

(

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

); however, that had already been performed by James Blundell on '' The Spirit of Christmas 1994'', so he told Field that he would have a go at writing one instead. Kelly later recalled, "I had a rough tune I'd been kicking around with the band at sound check, but was having trouble getting started on the words. Kelly's inspiration for the lyrics was subsequently drawn from

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

's '' White Christmas'', where "Irving intensifies the feeling of Christmas by not being there". He advised Field, "I have a Christmas song but it doesn't have a chorus and it's set in a prison". Field was overcome with emotion when he first heard it and convinced the Salvation Army's selection group to accept it for the collection. The gravy recipe is genuine – Kelly learnt it from his father-in-law: "Just add flour, salt, a little red wine and don't forget a dollop of tomato sauce". Late in December 2017 Kelly explained to Luke Wong of

ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Melbourne (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924 and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after Radi ...

, "It was a song that doesn't have a chorus, it's set in prison, so I never thought it would be a hit song or anything... Once I start playing that song it lifts you up and takes you along with it." As for Joe, the protagonist, Wong asked, "whatever happened to Joe? Did he ever get out of prison on good behaviour?" with Kelly responding, "He seems to be like the character in some of my other songs; he's a bit like the guy in 'To Her Door'. I think he got out."

Gravy Day

In the lyrics Joe wrote his letter on 21 December, which led fans to dub the day "Gravy Day". A parody account on X called The Gravy Man has helped to spread the word since 2015, posting humorous profanity-laden memes about the song, including about collecting royalties for it.

Cover versions

It was

on the 2003

, ''Stories of Me: A Songwriter's Tribute to Paul Kelly'' and on Reyne's 2005 acoustic album ''... And the Horse You Rode in On''. It has also been covered by David Miles, From Nowhere, Semicolon,

, Karl Broadie and Lawrence Agar.

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...

performed the song at a Kelly tribute show which was recorded on the related triple album, '' Before Too Long'' (2010).

Christine Anu Maia Christine Anu (born on 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress of Torres Strait Islander origin. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home" in 1995. Anu has been no ...

covered the song on her 2014 Christmas album, '' Island Christmas''. Tasmanian band

covered the song in June 2016 for Triple J's

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a long-running weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves musicians playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs and then a cover version. The series was created by pres ...

segment. Australian folk group

All Our Exes Live in Texas All Our Exes Live in Texas were an Australian folk group, consisting of Hannah Crofts (vocals & ukulele), Georgia Mooney (vocals & mandolin), Elana Stone (vocals & accordion) and Katie Wighton (vocals & guitar). The four artists combined at a ...

also covered the song for

Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country music. History Bloodshot Records was founded in 1994 by Nan Warshaw, Rob Miller, and Eric Babcock, who knew each other from ...

's "13 Days of Xmas" compilation.

Film adaptation

In October 2023, it was announced at

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

’s 2024 upfronts the song will be adapted into film which will feature actors

Daniel Henshall Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in ''Snowtown'' (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henshall appeared in films such as '' The Babadook'' (2014), ...

, Agathe Rouselle,

Brenton Thwaites Brenton Thwaites (born ) is an Australian actor. Beginning his career in his home country in 2011, he had a starring role on the series '' Slide'' and later appeared on the soap opera ''Home and Away''. Since moving to the United States, Thwait ...

Damon Herriman Damon Herriman (born 31 March 1970) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series '' Justified'' (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseries '' Flesh and Bone'' (2015). He is ...

and

Kate Mulvany Kate Maree Mulvany (born 1977) is an Australian actress, playwright and screenwriter. She works in theatre, television and film, with roles in ''Hunters'' (2020–2023), ''The Great Gatsby'' (2013), '' Griff the Invisible'' (2010) and '' The F ...

. The film will be the first original movie for Binge, which is filming on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

, to be written by Meg Washington and Nick Waterman, who will also direct. Schuyler Weiss will produce alongside Washington, Waterman and

Hamish Lewis Hamish is a Scottish masculine given name. It is the anglicized form of the vocative case of the Gaelic name '' Seamus'' or ''Sheumais''. It is therefore, the equivalent of James. People Given name * Hamish Bennett, retired New Zealand cricke ...

. Produced by Warner Bros. Int. TV Production Australia.

Reception

"How to Make Gravy" was nominated as 'Song of the Year' at the 1997 Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards, which was won by

Savage Garden Savage Garden was an Australian pop duo consisting of Darren Hayes on vocals and Daniel Jones on guitar, keyboards, and vocals; they formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1993. They were signed to John Woodruff's talent agency and achieved int ...

's " Truly Madly Deeply". Kelly was also nominated and won 'Best Male Artist' at that year's

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

on the success of the song. It was also nominated as 'Song of the Year' at the 1998

(APRA) Music Awards, which was won by Leonardo's Bride's "Even When I’m Sleeping".

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 Mus ...

's Tom Hallet praised the track in his review of the US version of ''Words & Music'', "cult maestro Kelly draws on a rich tapestry of characters and true to life situations, and has his finger firmly planted on the universal heartbeat with loose, catchy yarns ... ncluding one onChristmas in jail". In 2008 John Butler selected the song as his favourite Australian song of the last 20 years: On 29 September 2012 Kelly performed "How to Make Gravy" and " Leaps and Bounds" at the

although most of the performance was not broadcast on

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

's pre-game segment. Nui Te Koha of ''

Sunday Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Her ...

'' declared "Kelly, an integral part of Melbourne folklore and its music scene, and a noted footy tragic, deserved his place on the Grand Final stage – which has been long overdue ... broadcaster Seven's refusal to show Kelly's performance, except the last verse of 'Leaps and Bounds', was no laughing matter". Late in December 2017 and early January 2018 the EP appeared on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

at No. 54. A year later it re-entered the top 100 at No. 37.

Track listing

Personnel

Paul Kelly Band members * Stephen Hadley – bass guitar ("How to Make Gravy", "I'd Rather Go Blind Than See You with Another Guy") * Bruce Haymes – keyboard *

– slide guitar ("How to Make Gravy", "I'd Rather Go Blind Than See You with Another Guy", "Glory Be to God"), drawing (tomato sauce bottle on original cover art) Note: content in "Triple M's Paul Kelly Gravy Day Special" podcast. * Paul Kelly – guitar, vocals *

– drums * Shane O'Mara – guitar ("How to Make Gravy", "I'd Rather Go Blind Than See You with Another Guy", "I'll Be Your Lover Now") * Bill MacDonald – bass guitar ("I'll Be Your Lover Now", "Glory Be to God") Recording details * Oscar Gaona – mastering *

Victor Van Vugt Victor Van Vugt is a record producer, music producer, mixer and audio engineer, engineer. An Australian based in Berlin, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with P.J ...

– mix engineer ("I'd Rather Go Blind Than See You with Another Guy", "I'll Be Your Lover Now", "Glory Be to God") * Simon Polinski – sound engineer ("How to Make Gravy", "I'd Rather Go Blind Than See You with Another Guy"), producer ("How to Make Gravy") * Paul Kelly – producer ("How to Make Gravy", "I'd Rather Go Blind Than See You with Another Guy", "I'll Be Your Lover Now", "Glory Be to God")

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. * Specific {{Paul Kelly 1996 EPs ARIA Award–winning albums Paul Kelly (Australian musician) albums Christmas albums by Australian artists Christmas songs