The Hold Steady Are Giving Away Their ‘Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You’ Cover for Free

In 2014, the Hold Steady covered Billy Squier’s 1981 holiday tune “Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You’ for their RAGS EP. Now, in the spirit of giving, the Brooklyn rockers are offering a free download of their rendition at their Bandcamp page.

“We wanted to make available the Hold Steady cover of Billy Squier’s ‘Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You’ that we recorded for the RAGS EP sessions a few years back,” the band wrote in a statement to their Facebook. “A lot of you already have this, but ‘tis the season, so we wanted to share again.”

Take a listen to the Hold Steady’s version below and then compare it to the original at the bottom of the page.

The Hold Steady released their last full-length Teeth Dreams last year, while frontman Craig Finn dropped his solo effort Faith in the Future this past September. Finn will launch a string of tour dates opening for Titus Andronicus in the new year. Their first show together will take place on March 1 in Baltimore. They have more stops planned through a show in Philly on March 27. See the complete itinerary below:

Craig Finn Tour
Feb. 2: New York, NY - Lincoln Center (American Songbook series)
March 1: Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
March 2: Charlottesville, VA - The Southern *
March 3: Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre *
March 4: Athens, GA - 40 Watt *
March 5: Gainesville, FL - High Dive *
March 6: New Orleans, LA - Gasa Gasa *
March 8: Austin, TX - Scoot Inn *
March 9: Norman, OK - Opolis *
March 10: Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck *
March 11: Omaha, NE - Lookout Lounge *
March 12: Minneapolis, MN - Mill City Nights *
March 13: Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall *
March 15: St Louis, MO - Off Broadway *
March 16: Bloomington, IN - Bluebird *
March 17: Newport, KY - Headliners Music Hall
March 18: Cincinnati, OH - Ballroom at Taft Theatre *
March 19: Akron, OH - Musica *
March 20: Pittsburgh, PA - Cattivo *
March 21: Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall *
March 22: Ithaca, NY - The Haunt *
March 23: Albany, NY - Hollow *
March 24: Northampton, MA - Pearl Street *
March 25: New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *
March 26: Pawtucket, RI - The Met *
March 27: Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *
* w/ Titus Andronicus