It has felt like Christmas all year long for Swifties — from Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” album and its No. 1 single “Anti-Hero” to her “Eras” tour and concert film to her “Taylor’s Version” re-recordings of “Speak Now” and “1989.”
But it’s the 33-year-old pop superstar’s new buzzed-about beau, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is kicking the holiday season into festive gear with “Fairytale of Philadelphia” — a duet with his older brother Jason Kelce, center for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Putting a twist on the Pogues’ “Fairytale of “New York,” the tune is featured on “A Philly Special Christmas Special,” a charity holiday album by Jason Kelce and his Eagles teammates Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson that will be released on Dec. 1.
The track opens with a burly-voiced Jason bellowing, “It was Christmas Eve again in the drunk tank/
An old man said to me, ‘Won’t see another one.’ ”
But by the end of the first verse, his holiday spirits are looking up: “I’ve got a feeling this year’s for me and you/So Happy Christmas, I love you, brother/I can see a better time when all our dreams come true.”
Then things turn from festive to foul again.
“You’s a lush, you’re a crumb bum/You smell like some old scum/Washed up from the Schuylkill and rotting away,” sings Jason.
Then the higher-pitched Trevor chimes in, “You dirtbag, you phony/You lousy jabroni/Happy Christmas, you ass/I pray God it’s our last.”
Later, the two brothers engage in some playful brotherly banter.
“I could have been someone,” sings Jason.
“Well, so could anyone,” Travis counters.
“You took my dreams from me/When Mom first had you,” Jason continues.
“I kept them with me, Jace/I put them with my own/Can’t make it all alone,” responds Travis.
“I’ve built my dreams around you,” they finally croon in tandem, as if giving each other a jolly, gridiron-sized bear hug.
Of course, Travis Kelce, 34, has had plenty to gush about besides his love for his 36-year-old brother.
He’s still gagging from Saturday’s stop on Swift’s Eras Tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina, when his new girlfriend changed the lyrics to “Karma” to give him a sweet shout-out : “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.” (The original line is, “Karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me.)
“Yeah, no, I had no clue [she would do that] … Well, I might have had a little bit of a clue, but definitely when I heard it come out of her mouth, it still shocked me,” Kelce said on the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast that he co-hosts with Jason Kelce. “I was like, ‘Oh s–t — she really just said that.’ ”
But judging from “Fairytale in Philadelphia,” Swift won’t have to worry about any singing competition from her new man.
Meanwhile Swifties took to X to share their enthusiasm for the new song and vowing to get the track to the top of the charts.
“#1 Billboard,’ wrote @ynaelc13.
“I loved it,” added @TigerBombLady. “We’re taking it to the top 10!”