Hayes Carll "Grateful For Christmas"

Around the middle of last week, I started to see Facebook Status complaints about the unwelcome early arrival of Christmas music.

Maybe you heard your first song of the season through the P.A. system in the supermarket.

Maybe it caught you off-guard while you were on hold.

Or maybe, the record labels sent you a free MP3 to pass on to your blog readers.

Okay, that last one may be a bit specific.

I interviewed Hayes Carll a few years ago, and was impressed with his ability to be tender, melancholy and hilarious, without ever really changing his delivery or tone.

I wasn't necessarily psyched to listen to a Christmas song during the first week of November, but I put it on, along with some other newly received tracks. And about midway through the song, I found myself laughing out loud.

So, yeah, it's early. But this one is worth it.

It's available as a free download from Hayes' site. (Right click the link to download)

He tells a couple of stories, before starting the song: