Here in the UK this song is widely held up as the best and most popular Christmas Song. Is this as popular around the rest of the world are you fans of it? The highest chart position it reached here was no 2. It’s one of those songs that everyone try’s to sing when they are drunk but its very rare they know all the words!!
It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me, won't see another one And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew I turned my face away And dreamed about you
Got on a lucky one Came in eighteen to one I've got a feeling This year's for me and you So happy Christmas I love you baby I can see a better time When all our dreams come true
They've got cars big as bars They've got rivers of gold But the wind goes right through you It's no place for the old When you first took my hand On a cold Christmas Eve You promised me Broadway was waiting for me
You were handsome You were pretty Queen of New York City When the band finished playing They howled out for more Sinatra was swinging, All the drunks they were singing We kissed on a corner Then danced through the night
The boys of the NYPD choir Were singing "Galway Bay" And the bells were ringing out For Christmas day
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 You scumbag, you maggot You cheap lousy faggot Happy Christmas your **** I pray God it's our last
I could have been someone Well so could anyone You took my dreams from me When I first found you I kept them with me babe I put them with my own Can't make it all alone I've built my dreams around you
I've never heard this mentioned but I sometimes wonder if this song was some how inspired by Sid Vicious of the Sex pistols, im not a fan of either but I can see the links with his life and death in some of the lines.
Posted by Nice Guy Sammy Hain (Member # 3150) on :
The song never had chart success over here but it has a lot of people who praise this song pretty highly including me. FYI for those not familliar with the song it was recorded by The Pogues w/ Kirsty MacColl.
I've alread listened to it a few times in the past week and will listen to it quite a bit more this holiday season. I also will listen to it occasionally all year long.
Good song. Good thread. I need to listen to it right now. Thanks for the inspiration.
Posted by Tobey (Member # 2275) on :
There are two Christmas songs that I love. That one, "Fairytale of New York", and Simon & Garfunkel's "7 o'Clock News/Silent Night".
Posted by Nice Guy Sammy Hain (Member # 3150) on :
The David Bowie/Bing Crosby Christmas song "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth" is also a very fine song.
Posted by Hordak (Member # 1772) on :
Yes an absolute classic. THE Christmas song from my first year as a pop fan, typical of the exceptionally high standards of '87/8. In fact, to this day I can't say I've heard a better one.
Chris Rea's monumental 'Driving Home For Christmas' and Cliff Richard's 'Savior's Day' are 2 other classics to check out (I know what you're thinking, Cheesy Cliff... while his earlier Mistletoe & Wine I could easily incinerate all copies of, Savior's Day, by contrast, was pure class and highly melodic IMO. Credit where credit's due :-).
Posted by kat27 (Member # 3979) on :
Saint, I have mentioned this before but I don't know if what is in this section. This is one of my all time favourite songs - so much so that I have had to put it on now. Such a brilliant Christmas song - totally sums up my attitude towards Christmas - I am afraid that I am a bit of a grinch.
Posted by Riptide (Member # 457) on :
This is a killer X-mas song, i always play it, it just typifies the down and out spirit of people who don't have much but each other on X-mas. It's even more sad now that kirst Macoll dies in a tragic boating acciden a few years ago.
I've never heard this mentioned but I sometimes wonder if this song was some how inspired by Sid Vicious of the Sex pistols, im not a fan of either but I can see the links with his life and death in some of the lines.
As for the lyrics being inspired by the Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious, that is very possible as the singer Shane MacGowan was an original 1977 London punk, who had his own band the Nips, and was friends and rubbed shoulders with the punks of the time. In fact the Clash's Joe Strummer was a member of the Pogues later on.
