Welcome to a special Yuletide edition of Music Friday, when we spotlight songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today’s pick is Toby Keith’s playful 1995 holiday tune “Christmas Rock,” a song that finds the future country superstar portraying a cash-strapped husband heading to the jewelry store after his wife makes it clear that pots, pans and practical gifts simply won’t do.
Released on Keith’s first holiday album, Christmas to Christmas, the song opens with the narrator's wife poring over Christmas catalogs, zeroing in on the jewelry pages, and she’s made her wishes clear: She wants “something shinin’ on her hand,” preferably set with a diamond or an emerald.
Keith’s narrator protests that the budget is tight and that his “billfold doesn’t have a prayer,” but a single tear from his wife seals his fate. Soon enough, he’s heading “down to the jewelry store,” where even the clerk greets him with a festive “ho, ho, ho.” The refrain drives the joke home: she wants a Christmas rock, but Santa’s pockets “ain’t got no roll.”
The irony, of course, is that Toby Keith himself was anything but broke. Over the course of a three-decade career, he became one of the most successful figures in country music, releasing 19 studio albums, two Christmas albums, and five compilations, with worldwide sales topping 40 million units. He scored 20 #1 hits on the Billboard country charts. Keith's success extended well beyond music, earning him recognition as a savvy entrepreneur with ventures spanning touring, publishing and hospitality.
Born in Clinton, OK, Keith’s path to stardom was far from smooth. He grew up around live music at his grandmother’s supper club, picked up his first guitar at age eight, worked oil fields by day and played honky-tonks by night. After years of grinding, a chance connection led to a record deal in Nashville — and the rest is country music history.
Keith passed away in February 2024 after a battle with stomach cancer, leaving behind a towering legacy as a singer, songwriter, performer and patriot who remained deeply connected to his Oklahoma roots. Even in a humorous holiday song about a man sweating a jewelry purchase, his storytelling shines with warmth, wit and authenticity.
This season, as engagement rings and diamond jewelry once again top holiday wish lists, “Christmas Rock” feels as timely as ever.
Please check out the audio track of Keith performing “Christmas Rock.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…
“Christmas Rock”
Written by Lewis Anderson. Performed by Toby Keith.
My billfold doesn’t have a prayer
There’s Christmas catalogs everywhere
She keeps looking at the jewelry section
Cutting pictures out of her selections
I said, “We need to hold it down this year”
And in her eye she got a big ol’ tear
She wants a Christmas rock
But Santa’s pockets ain’t got no roll
She don’t want pots and pans
Just something shinin’ on her hand
With an emerald or a diamond on it
I had a budget but she’s gone and blown it
Down to the jewelry store, here I go
Hear the clerk say, “Ho, ho, ho”
She wants a Christmas rock
But Santa’s pockets ain’t got no roll
She don’t want anything from Sears
No tools or garden shears
There’s something special on her mind
And I can’t even afford the shine
I wish she’d settled for a long nightshirt
No, I’ve got to give till it hurts
She wants a Christmas rock
But Santa’s pockets ain’t got no roll
She don’t want pots and pans
Just something shinin’ on her hand
With an emerald or a diamond on it
I had a budget but she’s gone and blown it
Down to the jewelry store, here I go
Hear the clerk say, “Ho, ho, ho”
She wants a Christmas rock
But Santa’s pockets ain’t got no roll
She wants a Christmas rock
But ol’ Santa’s pockets ain’t got no roll
Credit: Photo by US Army - Rob McIlvaine, FMWRC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
