# Best/worst Christmas Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 18, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016 "2019-12-18T02:31:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/61 "2019-12-19T16:36:55Z")
Silent Night is my favorite, but I haven’t found a good (published) version with four-part harmony, like we sing in church. Anyone have a recommendation? My least favorite songs are joyful Christmas hymns that get turned into slow interminable dirges. Or the ones that only sing the first verse of a song over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/62 "2019-12-19T17:43:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The worst - and I hate to even bring it up, as it will infest the brains of all who read this - is that nastiest of earworms; that disgusting bit of treacle that pervades every shopping mall and retail outlet; yes, I’m talking about none other than… > FELIZ NAVIDAD! [I suggest singing this instead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1-PInpfILM) > [@markn\_1](#): > > If parodies are allowed, I’m going with [Sled Zeppelin](https://youtu.be/Z5bH5jGhN_I), with honorable mention to [Toy Sack](https://youtu.be/YFKlLGjjxWQ). I like both of these better than any real Christmas song. Don’t forget Bob Rivers’ "[I am Santa Claus"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XemOaKUVBpU) [quote=“nearwildheaven, post:47, topic:845016”] Here’s Bob & Doug McKenzie. [/QUOTE] Every Canadian knows this one by heart! My personal favorite is [Dropkick Murphys - “The Season’s Upon Us”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTx-sdR6Yzk) I have a soft spot for “Christmas with Nana Mouskouri” especially [“Old Toy Trains”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1SpG5UvArw) as it’s one of the few happy memories I have surrounding Christmas growing up. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/63 "2019-12-19T17:52:09Z")
I flove Feliz Navidad but only the version by Jose Feliciano. I flove Hark the Herald Angels Sing and manymany other sacred songs. I don’t love or even like the hippopotamus song, but I changed the first 2 lines for my cranky red mare Ariel who pins her ears when I brush her. I want a crankopotamus for Christmas, a small red mare named Ariel will do. I hate Last Christmas by George Michael and any other glurgy song about love . I also HATE the movie Love, Actually, except for the Bill Nighy story. I fucking hate Hugh Grant. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/64 "2019-12-19T18:37:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You should consider yourselves lucky that you don’t have to endure _Christmas in the Northwest_. It’s the tackiest, most saccharine glurgey mess of a Christmas song I’ve ever heard (and that INCLUDES Christmas Shoes), and yet it’s almost inescapable in this part of the country. On the one hand, it’s awful. On the other, it really isn’t Christmas until you’ve sung along to “is a gift God wrapped in GREEN” at least once. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > My favorite is [this version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-yHUACjTfU) of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” “I Heard the Bells…” is one of my favorite carols. That version doesn’t work for me at all (it lacks the gravity I think the words need). I tend to like Christmas & seasonal songs - they’re fun to sing along to. I tend to like the ones that have a little more complexity, both on the secular & non-secular side. The worst are songs that are not about the season or Christmas, but get played anyway for stupid ass reasons. I’m looking at you “My Favorite Things,” “Hallelujah,” and “Hard Candy Christmas.” (which are all perfectly good songs, but do not belong in Christmas playlists.) ---
**Author:** ![RollOutTheBarrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rolloutthebarrel/32/1649_2.png) [@RollOutTheBarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RollOutTheBarrel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/65 "2019-12-19T18:55:55Z")
I like most Christmas music so it’s hard to pick a favorite. I think it might be “Snoopy’s Christmas” by the Royal Guardsmen. Add me to the chorus of people hating “Christmas Shoes”. It always reminds me of an incident that happened to me several years ago. I was walking home when I stopped to buy a Coke from a vending machine in front of a grocery store. A guy came up to me with some shoes telling me he had bought the shoes for his wife, but they didn’t fit. He wanted to know if I wanted to buy them and I declined. He snapped, “These shoes ain’t hot, lady!” I was like, “No, no, I’m just not interested.” That seemed to placate him and he left. That’s what I think happened to the shoes after the song takes place. There’s some adult in the kid’s life who coached him on telling a sob story about a dying mama and Jesus and whatever. The kid gets some poor sap to pay for the shoes and then the adult sells the shoes to some other poor sap in front of a grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/66 "2019-12-19T19:01:29Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > My personal favorite is [Dropkick Murphys - “The Season’s Upon Us”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTx-sdR6Yzk) Just heard of this yesterday. That’s a song that understands what Christmas is all about. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/67 "2019-12-19T19:27:36Z")
I really like _Christmas Wrapping_, too. It was fairly hard to find in the early years, so it was nice when you did find it. For worst, what about _Santa’s Souped Up Sleigh_? It may not be real, but it’s certainly bad. And speaking, tangentially of Hugh Grant, I hate _Love Actually_ as well. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/68 "2019-12-19T21:35:35Z")
Best: _O Holy Night_ Tennessee Ernie Ford [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vy-cI2DtGwM/maxresdefault.jpg "Tennessee Ernie Ford - O Holy Night") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy-cI2DtGwM) Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo Trans Siberian Orchestra [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MHioIlbnS_A/maxresdefault.jpg "Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve / Sarajevo (Timeless Version) (Official Music Video) [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHioIlbnS_A) Worst: Bruce Springsteen _Santa Claus is coming to town._ I can understand why people don’t like _Christmas Shoes_ but I enjoy it. D&R. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/69 "2019-12-23T20:27:08Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I really like _Christmas Wrapping_, too. It was fairly hard to find in the early years, so it was nice when you did find it. > > For worst, what about _Santa’s Souped Up Sleigh_? It may not be real, but it’s certainly bad. And speaking, tangentially of Hugh Grant, I hate _Love Actually_ as well. Blech. Was that the one from _About a Boy_, that made Hugh Grant’s character a trust fund baby? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/70 "2019-12-24T00:33:35Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > For complete and utter weirdness, nothing can beat > > [I’m walking backwards for Christmas (1956)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e61uC-5s9VU) > > (If you don’t know _The Goon Show_, with Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secome you may not appreciate it!) Needle nardle noo! 'Tis the greatest Christmas song ever photographed inside of a mountain! ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/71 "2019-12-24T01:29:59Z")
“We three kings of orient are trying to smoke a Tampa cigar” Ms. P told me Sunday she’d rather hear me sing the Mop Challenge song. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/72 "2019-12-24T02:24:25Z")
Two things I realized listening to a lot of Christmas music this past weekend. -Whichever beach boy sings the “he sees you when you’re sleeping” part of Santa Clause is Coming to Town really has no business being a singer -I really, really don’t like any Christmas music by the Jackson 5 ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/73 "2019-12-24T06:10:03Z")
Some exceptionally beautiful traditional French carols: [Quittez, Pasteurs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v148SJZ5Jc8) [Quelle est cette odeur agréable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT_AwaN4n9Y) [Noel Nouvelet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOfONTTsQvY) A couple of German ones: [Still, Still weil’s Kindlein schlafen will](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC1GfEXjaBU) [Es ist ein Ros entsprungen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKB_BMkVtpw) And a Spanish one: [Riu riu chiu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJl6nSVVrlg) ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/74 "2019-12-24T07:12:34Z")
Another beautiful German carol: [Fröhliche Weihnacht überall](https://youtu.be/OVVxJQCDCLE?t=11s) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/75 "2019-12-25T01:29:10Z")
Has anyone else noticed that no one complains about “Thistlehair the Christmas Bear” anymore ever since “The Christmas Shoes” started getting so much airplay? Worst (in addition to “The Christmas Shoes”): that horrid hippo song. Whether it’s the original or the cover (who in the hell decided that this rancid thing needed covers??), it’s intolerable. Best: “Carol of the Bells,” except for that version that tweaks the lyrics to add more Jesus. “O Holy Night,” but only if the singer knows his/her limits. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/76 "2019-12-25T03:34:27Z")
I finally heard the Christmas shoes song. I can tolerate the sappiness but musically and vocally it sucks. The singer cannot carry a tune. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/77 "2019-12-25T13:55:48Z")
I was hospitalized during Thanksgiving week, and spent a lot of time staring at the handwritten Nurse Notes on the white board in my room — which often led me to sing, “The Foley and the IV…” I didn’t come up with a second line, but then, I’ve never known any additional lines in “The Holly and the Ivy”. Since it was the week for Xmas music, I asked most of my nurses about their favorite carols. The most educational answer was [“Silent Night” by the Temptations](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vFc7STuQF0U), which I’d never heard, but has over 30 million Youtube hits. It runs six minutes, and each of the guys (from bass to falsetto) gets to solo. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/78 "2019-12-25T16:45:41Z")
Worst- _I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus_ Best: Oh Holy Night, and/or _What Child is This?_\* - But only if you sing the original words, with the three different choruses. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/79 "2019-12-26T18:33:23Z")
Absolutely the best: _ **Dancing Queen** _. Go a caroling and sing it. People will be in tears. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2019, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016/80 "2019-12-26T19:23:56Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > _What Child is This?_\* > > - But only if you sing the original words, with the three different choruses. The original words? You mean _Greensleeves was my delight…_ ? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-christmas-songs/845016.md?page=5)