Yesterday I re-discovered a playlist I made for my iPod last year titled "Lonely Christmas." I imagine not everyone sees the attraction in collecting a bunch of morose songs that reference Christmas into one crushingly glum listening experience. Lots of folks look to the holidays and its relentlessly cheery music to help them bury any sense of misery for a month or two. I'm not one of those people.
It's not that I hate Christmas. On the contrary, this is one of my favorite times of year. It's also not that I am particularly melancholy. I just like music that makes me feel something genuine, and a sad Christmas song, when done right, is as genuinely sad as it gets.
At any rate, if you are sick of Burl Ives yelling at you to "have a holly, jolly Christmas," after the jump are five songs, inspired by my playlist, to provide a countermeasure to contrived holiday cheer.
As always, feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.
5. "Fairytale of New York," The Pogues
I once brought up the idea of doing a show of nothing but sad Christmas songs with my band. We never did it, but this was the song suggested by our drummer. It starts out, "It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank; an old man said to me, 'Won't see another one,'" ... and it goes downhill from there. Wikipedia says it has become "a festive classic" in Great Britain and "is frequently voted the Number One Best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the U.K." Huh. Those Brits love their sad drinking songs, I guess.
Most heart-wrenching moment: I don't know if heart-wrenching is the right word, but Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl certainly make their point when they sing, "You're a bum; you're a punk; you're an old slut on junk; lying there, almost dead, on a drip in that bed."
4. "Circle of Steele," Gordon Lightfoot
Boy, I loved me some Gordon Lightfoot when I was in kindergarten. I listened to "Gord's Gold" until I wore the tape out. At the time, this song was known as "the 'Deck the Halls' one." It was only when I was older that I really figured out what it was about: a child born at Christmastime to an alcoholic mother in a rat-trap apartment while the father is in prison.
Most heart-wrenching moment: "'Deck the Halls' was the song they played in the flat next door where they shout all day; she tips her gin bottle back 'til it's gone — the child is strong."
3. "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night," Simon & Garfunkel
It's a gimmick, but it works. Simon and Garfunkel sing a simple arrangement of "Silent Night" while a fictional newscaster reads a bunch of really depressing stories (which all apparently happened in August, not December), including reporting on the death of Lenny Bruce.
Most heart-wrenching moment: The newscast starts barely perceptible and slowly slowly louder, but when the newscaster reaches the item about "Richard Speck, accused murderer of nine student nurses," there's a sudden boost in the volume and emotional intensity.
2. "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas," Okkervil River
Okkervil River leader Will Sheff frequently "quotes" other, famous songs in his music, using snippets of lyrics and melody to comment on the subject at hand. In this case, the subject is coming back home for the holidays and thinking about "the one that got away," how they both traded domestic life in a quiet hometown to move to big cities, and how he's "got dreams to remember."
Most heart-wrenching moment: "Oh Sara, come back to New Hampshire. We'll stay here forever."
(Sorry, this live footage is the only video on YouTube. You can find the album version over at The Hype Machine.)
1. "First Christmas," Stan Rogers
This is not only the saddest Christmas song of all time, it is quite possibly the saddest song of all time period. The legendary Canadian folksinger presents three different scenarios of people spending their first Christmas away from their family: a young man working through the holidays, a teenage runaway and an old man in a nursing home.
Most heart-wrenching moment: Just thinking about the third verse is making me a little verklempt, but the dam really busts when Rogers gets to this line: "When the old girl passed away he fell apart more every day, each had always kept the other pretty well." That's quickly followed by a description of the "huge and cold and lifeless" tree in the common room with a "lit-up, flashing Santa Claus on top." Oh, man, that's some sad stuff.
Source: blog.mlive.com
It's not that I hate Christmas. On the contrary, this is one of my favorite times of year. It's also not that I am particularly melancholy. I just like music that makes me feel something genuine, and a sad Christmas song, when done right, is as genuinely sad as it gets.
At any rate, if you are sick of Burl Ives yelling at you to "have a holly, jolly Christmas," after the jump are five songs, inspired by my playlist, to provide a countermeasure to contrived holiday cheer.
As always, feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.
5. "Fairytale of New York," The Pogues
I once brought up the idea of doing a show of nothing but sad Christmas songs with my band. We never did it, but this was the song suggested by our drummer. It starts out, "It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank; an old man said to me, 'Won't see another one,'" ... and it goes downhill from there. Wikipedia says it has become "a festive classic" in Great Britain and "is frequently voted the Number One Best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the U.K." Huh. Those Brits love their sad drinking songs, I guess.
Most heart-wrenching moment: I don't know if heart-wrenching is the right word, but Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl certainly make their point when they sing, "You're a bum; you're a punk; you're an old slut on junk; lying there, almost dead, on a drip in that bed."
4. "Circle of Steele," Gordon Lightfoot
Boy, I loved me some Gordon Lightfoot when I was in kindergarten. I listened to "Gord's Gold" until I wore the tape out. At the time, this song was known as "the 'Deck the Halls' one." It was only when I was older that I really figured out what it was about: a child born at Christmastime to an alcoholic mother in a rat-trap apartment while the father is in prison.
Most heart-wrenching moment: "'Deck the Halls' was the song they played in the flat next door where they shout all day; she tips her gin bottle back 'til it's gone — the child is strong."
3. "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night," Simon & Garfunkel
It's a gimmick, but it works. Simon and Garfunkel sing a simple arrangement of "Silent Night" while a fictional newscaster reads a bunch of really depressing stories (which all apparently happened in August, not December), including reporting on the death of Lenny Bruce.
Most heart-wrenching moment: The newscast starts barely perceptible and slowly slowly louder, but when the newscaster reaches the item about "Richard Speck, accused murderer of nine student nurses," there's a sudden boost in the volume and emotional intensity.
2. "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas," Okkervil River
Okkervil River leader Will Sheff frequently "quotes" other, famous songs in his music, using snippets of lyrics and melody to comment on the subject at hand. In this case, the subject is coming back home for the holidays and thinking about "the one that got away," how they both traded domestic life in a quiet hometown to move to big cities, and how he's "got dreams to remember."
Most heart-wrenching moment: "Oh Sara, come back to New Hampshire. We'll stay here forever."
(Sorry, this live footage is the only video on YouTube. You can find the album version over at The Hype Machine.)
1. "First Christmas," Stan Rogers
This is not only the saddest Christmas song of all time, it is quite possibly the saddest song of all time period. The legendary Canadian folksinger presents three different scenarios of people spending their first Christmas away from their family: a young man working through the holidays, a teenage runaway and an old man in a nursing home.
Most heart-wrenching moment: Just thinking about the third verse is making me a little verklempt, but the dam really busts when Rogers gets to this line: "When the old girl passed away he fell apart more every day, each had always kept the other pretty well." That's quickly followed by a description of the "huge and cold and lifeless" tree in the common room with a "lit-up, flashing Santa Claus on top." Oh, man, that's some sad stuff.
Source: blog.mlive.com
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→Blue Christmas: Five depressing holiday songs
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