The Real Life Bar That Inspired Kenny Chesney's Heartbreaking Christmas Song, ‘Jesus and Elvis’

If you're idly driving along Highway 183 North in Austin during the heat of the summer, and you take a few wrong turns and suddenly find yourself on Justin Lane, you could be forgiven for thinking you've stumbled into some kind of strange time-warp.

Because, despite the fact that the Texas sun is beating down and passers-by are decked out in shorts and tank-tops, right in front of you, glimmering like a bauble-speckled, reindeer-adorned mirage, stands a Christmas-themed bar: Lala's Little Nugget.

Lala's is a key part of North Austin's cultural fabric, and its origins are as enigmatic as its festive theme. What we do know, is the endearing watering hole was founded by Frances Lala in 1972, with the sharp-witted bartender remaining at the helm for the best part of fifty years until her well-earned retirement in 2015.

One potential origin story for Lala's Little Nugget stems from Kenny Chesney's 2016 song, ‘Jesus and Elvis’, which was penned by Allison Moorer, Matraca Berg and Hayes Carll. At the time, Carll revealed that the heartbreaking track was indeed inspired by Lala's Little Nugget, “where it was always Christmas and there was nothing on the jukebox past 1968”, adding, “I had heard a story about this place – true or not I don’t know – but it was poignant and I thought it needed to be told”.

‘Jesus and Elvis’ finds Chesney wandering through the unassuming door of Lala's Little Nugget, and observing the wonderfully kitschy decor, various santa figurines and luminous fairy lights cascading down the walls. His interest is piqued by the velvet image of the King, Elvis, given pride of place on the wall next to the door, while a bold red countdown to Christmas hangs in anticipation behind the bar.

As our protagonist takes in the surroundings, Chesney regales the listener with the tragedy that lies beneath this joyful ambience. In ’Jesus and Elvis’, Chesney sings, “Lala built this joint in sixty-seven / And her boy went out to fight on Christmas eve / In a war nobody won, she lost her only son / Now everything he loved is what you see”.

It seems ‘Lola’ is meant to represent Frances Lala, with the use of a slightly different name perhaps indicating that the story of ’Jesus and Elvis’ is intended to be taken with a pinch of salt. In this song, Lola's son leaves to fight in the Vietnam War on Christmas Eve, and she promises to keep the decorations up until he returns.

Once it becomes clear he never will, she maintains the festive decor as a tribute to her lost son, and an homage to the two things he loved the most - ‘Jesus and Elvis’.

Following the popularity of ’Jesus and Elvis’, which remains one of the most underrated offerings on Chesney's 2016 album, Cosmic Hallelujah, the bittersweet story has been become part of the fascinating lore surrounding Lala's Little Nugget.

Frances Lala famously took the real story behind the year-round Christmas decorations to the grave with her when she passed in 2017. The current staff remain loyal to her intentions, and refuse to divulge the secret - if they even know themselves.

Alongside the ‘Jesus and Elvis’ story of her son departing for Vietnam, one alternative origin story professes that Frances decorated the bar after her husband left her on Christmas Day, and she found comfort in the happy lights and cheerful trinkets. Another suggests that she simply disliked how bare the walls looked when she took the decorations down, and subsequently decided to leave them up.

In all honesty, it doesn't really matter which narrative is true - if any. The mystery adds to the charm of Lala's Little Nugget, which acts as a time capsule in more ways than one. As Austin continues to modernise and shift with the times, you can find solace from the turbulence within the never-changing walls of this sweet bar.

As for the song, ‘Jesus and Elvis’ remains one of the most visceral and evocative jewels in Chesney's expansive crown of soulful odes. It was never chosen as a single, but it holds a special place in the hearts of his No Shoes Nation fan-members.

It serves as a prime example of the ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker's ability to convey grief - a skill that is often overshadowed by the sunny, light-hearted and island-inspired anthems he has become synonymous with over the years.

Although he was not a co-writer on the song', Chesney brings the tale vividly to life through his compelling delivery. ‘Jesus and Elvis’ joins other grief-stricken yet quietly hopeful gems in his catalogue, such as ‘Wherever You Are Tonight’, ‘Happy on the Hey Now (A Song for Kristi)’, ‘Guys Named Captain’ and ‘Sing ‘Em Good My Friend’.

So if you do find yourself with a few moments to spare on the Highway 183 North in Austin, be sure to venture down the sleepy side-streets that lead to Lala's Little Nugget.

And as you cast your gaze across the eclectic combination of Christmas knick-knacks and festive ornaments, consider the colourful origin stories that have stemmed from this unique place. Whether or not they are true, without Lala's Little Nugget, we wouldn't be able to enjoy Chesney's intricate ode, ‘Jesus and Elvis’, and its regulars would not have had a safe haven to depend on for the past fifty years. So today, as Christmas approaches, we raise our Santa Ciders to you, Frances.

For the full lyrics to Kenny Chesney's ’Jesus and Elvis’, see below:

“Jesus and Elvis, painted on velvet
Hanging at the bar here every night
It's good to be back again, oh me and my old friends
Neath the neon cross and a string of Christmas lights
-
Lola built this joint in sixty-seven
And her boy went out to fight on Christmas Eve
In a war nobody won, she lost her only son
Now everything he loved is what you see
-
Jesus and Elvis, painted on velvet
Hanging at the bar here every night
It's good to be back again, oh me and my old friends
Neath the neon cross and a string of Christmas lights
-
Mama told them Jesus loves a sinner
His daddy said that music saved his soul
Between the drunkards and the band
It's a fitting promised land
For the king of kings and the king of rock and roll
-
Jesus and Elvis, painted on velvet
Hanging at the bar here every night
It's good to be back again, oh me and my old friends
Neath the neon cross and a string of Christmas lights
-
So if you need a shot of whiskey and redemption
Where the delta meets the sea of Galilee
Get washed in the blood of the Mississippi mud
Come all you non-believers and you'll see
-
Jesus and Elvis, painted on velvet
Hanging at the bar here every night
It's good to be back again, oh me and my old friends
Neath the neon cross and a string of Christmas lights
-
By and by, Lord, by and by”

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