About
Darkest Night follows Idlewild on the Christmas Future disc of The Christmas Present. Written by Robbie Williams, Karl Brazil and Owen Parker, the track was produced by Guy Chambers and continues the introspective tone of its predecessor, revisiting Williams’s younger years with a mix of nostalgia and self-awareness.
The song’s orchestral opening sets a reflective mood before unfolding into a mid-tempo arrangement driven by acoustic guitars and strings. Lyrically, it recounts a restless Christmas in the mid-1990s, referencing nights out, regrets and the uncertainty of early adulthood. The line “Who knows what tonight’s tomorrow will bring?” encapsulates the song’s central tension between recklessness and the desire for redemption.
Williams described Darkest Night as a memory from his pre-rehabilitation period, “the fun bit before you have to go to rehab.” The lyrics blend candour with melody, charting the fragile space between celebration and chaos, while the refrain “Hold my hand till the last day of the year” lends the song a wistful intimacy.
“It’s nostalgic to sing about because I was just about to get in trouble. I wasn’t in trouble at this point. It’s the fun bit before you have to go to rehab.”Robbie Williams
Although not overtly Christmassy, Darkest Night complements Idlewild as part of the album’s exploration of personal history and change. Together, the songs frame the idea of Christmas as a season not only for joy but for reflection on life’s more complicated moments.
Lyrics
'95 or '96, I really can't remember which
Pack of fags, no bags, man I liked to travel lightly
Who knows what tonight's tomorrow will bring
Will I fall into a quiet room saying Hold me now?
And even on the darkest night of the coldest year
It's not Christmas night every night so come on bring your sex alive
Hold my hand till the last day of the year
It's not Christmas night every night so come on bring your sex alive
Made of ale, made of sin, I want my sex and drugs again
I call you up, to get a fix, at northwest six
Minicab, two patsies, I'm dodging paparazzi
I'll be they wish they could see me now
As we fall into a quiet room saying hold me now
And even on the darkest night of the coldest year
It's not Christmas night every night so come on bring your sex alive
Hold my hand till the last day of the year
It's not Christmas night every night so come on bring your sex alive
And even on the darkest night
Now look at us, we're all grown up
No one to tell us when to stop
And you know we couldn't anyway
Yes, we'll have our way on Christmas Day
And even on the darkest night of the coldest year
It's not Christmas night every night so come on bring your sex alive
Hold my hand till the last day of the year
It's not Christmas night every night so come on bring your sex alive
And even on the darkest night
Walk me out of here
I'll walk you out of here
I'll walk you out of here
Credits
-
Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Robbie Williams, Karl Brazil, Owen Parker -
Producer
Guy Chambers, Richard Flack