Options
Christmas songs not about Christmas.
pearlsandplums
Posts: 29,605 Forum Member
✭✭✭
Stay another day by East 17 is on radio. Weirdly for an xmas song, it's actually Christmas. Can you think of any other non Christmas songs? Power of love and what if
0
Comments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_Singles_Chart_Christmas_number_ones
So we're looking at:
2004 (Do they know it's Christmas?)
1990 (Saviour's Day)
1989 (Do they know it's Christmas?)
1988 (Mistletoe and Wine)
1985 (Merry Christmas Everyone)
1984 (Do they know it's Christmas?)
1978 (Mary's Boy Child)
1976 (When a Child is Born - a song I incidentally despise)
1974 (Lonely this Christmas)
1973 (Merry Christmas Everybody)
1957 (Mary's Boy Child)
1955 (Christmas Alphabet)
And that seems to be every Xmas number one from 1952 onwards which is actually about Christmas, which makes 40 Xmas number ones which aren't about Christmas.
And that's before we get onto the rest of the chart.
East 17 - Stay another Day
Spice Girls - 2 become 1/too much/goodbye - only reason they're called supposed 'xmas song' is because they were no1 on xmas
This one's for the children by new kids on the block, it was the lead off single their merry merry christmas album and that song has nothing to do with xmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjWQZBmJf6M
But it is though, MacGowan wrote it intending it to be a Christmas hit and it refers to Christmas numerous times.
It's more an alternative Christmas song than a traditional one.
Pipes Of Peace is another one come to think of it. Again, not sure if it was intended to be a Christmas song.
True, but the video is of the Nativity.
.
East 17 - Stay another Day
Spice Girls - 2 become 1/too much/goodbye - only reason they're called supposed 'xmas song' is because they were no1 on xmas[/QUOTE]
The line "it was christmas eve babe, in the drunk tank" makes it obvious its a christmas song
Of course 'Fairytale of New York' is a Christmas song, just read the lyrics, brilliant as they are. It's a story set against the background of Christmas time. Isn't 'Last Christmas" not the same?
Not about Christmas but the video has fake snow and has a winter scene.
What amazes me most is that Easy 17's Stay Another Day is played at Christmas. It's not really a festive song as such. I looked it up and it's actually about the songwriter's brother's suicide
I used to be able to listen to that East 17 track until the other day. I've known what it was about for years but I had to turn it off.
It was an antiwar song and he wasn't too pleased at first when it was used at christmas but when he realised how much money it was making he decided to keep quiet. He says it has made him quite rich.
Cliff Richard's 'Saviour's Day' for a start.
'Baby it's cold outside'
I always think of Fleet Foxes' 'White Winter Hymnal' as one of the loveliest Christmas songs, but it isn't https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gml-nAJGRbY
'Sleigh Ride' - The Ronettes version is probably best known
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co7ZGOjGV4A
'Jing-a-ling jing-a-ling'
Frosty the Snowman doesn't mention Christmas either
Not a new thing - some of the carols don't:
'Child in a manger', 'Ding dong merrily on high', 'It came upon the midnight clear' ..
eh?.... ive never heard that referred to as a crimbo song.
as for 'fairytale'... ive never considered it a crimbo song, but a song that was set around crimbo and mentions it.
whats christmassy about it? even the boys of the ny pd choir were singing galway bay http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galway_Bay_%28song%29 which isnt a crimbo song, and this appears to be in spite of the bells ringing out for christmas day.
surely a christmas song is about christmas and not one that mentions it and is contemptous of it.
I can't listen to that song at all. I always start crying when I hear it