As I write this I ‘m listening to the “ top 100 Christmas songs ” countdown. The countdown is lone now in the 90s sol there is a long room to go before they get to total one, but I ‘m indisputable it will be “ Fairytale of New York ” by the Pogues and Kirsty MacCool .
How can I be so indisputable that “ Fairytale ” will be total one ? Well, this is n’t the first of these polls. In fact, it is one of the annual features of the Christmas season that some media outlets will release a poll of either Irish or british people and constantly “ Fairytale ” is count one .
I am at a personnel casualty to understand how this can be. “ Fairytale of New York ” is a effective song ; I like it. however, it is a cynical, hopeless sung that seems barren of anything that makes Christmas particular .
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now I know there are some people who do n’t like Christmas and probably enjoy the farinaceous “ platonism ” that “ Fairytale ” evokes. even, there is no way that most people feel this means about Christmas otherwise there ‘d be no way that “ It ‘s A fantastic Life ” would regularly feature as the best Christmas movie of all time .
I truly do n’t understand why anyone would want to listen to “ Fairytale of New York ” at Christmas time. It ‘s so depress .
I used to think possibly it was a case of people not very listening to the lyrics, as happens with couples who love The Police ‘s “ Every Breath You Take. ” I do n’t think that is the case with “ Fairytale, ” however. It very is inexplicable to me .
Springsteen ‘s “ Santa Claus is Coming to Town ” is fantastic and just about any Christmas song from Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra hits the right note at Christmas time .
If it has to have “ gloomy reality, ” I prefer Band Aid ‘s “ Do They Know It ‘s Christmas, ” which is an upbeat song despite the narrative behind it.
And I in truth like Garth Brooks ‘ “ Belleau Wood, ” which is an excellent song about the 1914 armistice during WWI ( although fully of diachronic inaccuracies ) .
Both “ Do They Know It ‘s Christmas ” and “ Belleau Wood ” contain that essential Christmas ingredient – promise. “ Fairytale ” starts with hope, but then spits it out .
I have to say, however, that my favored Christmas song is none of those above. It is “ thoroughly King Wenceslas, ” which is the very diametric of “ Fairytale. ” The fib of the man of wealth and exponent slog through the snow on a dark, stormy winter ‘s night to bring “ pulp, ” wine and pine logs to a poor people man is the perfume of what Christmas is approximately. Hope .
Hope was born 2016 years ago and “ thoroughly King Wenceslas ” is a great drumhead of what Christmas should mean to all of us .
What do you make of “Fairytale of New York?” Is it a good Christmas song?
* First published in 2010. Updated in 2021 .
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