# Christmas songs no one plays anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822 "2015-12-19T01:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/21 "2015-12-22T04:21:02Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > “[I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dec9Jb_Ac4)” > > (I Dare any currently touring artists to sing this baby in a Christmas set…!) I went with my family last weekend to “Carols in the Domain” in Sydney. There were 100,000 people there and it was broadcast live on network TV nationally. This song was sung by a well-known Australian children’s entertainer. I must admit I had never heard it before. I don’t get the “I dare any currently touring artists to sing this …” comment. Is there something un-PC in the lyrics? I didn’t really take notice of them, so I may have missed something. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/22 "2015-12-22T13:42:47Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Please tell me you’re being sarcastic. > > I hear both of these, probably three times in an eight-hour shift, and have been doing so since the day after Thanksgiving. Not to mention “Santa Baby”, “Walking In A Winter Wonderland”, and - deep breath, see if I can type this without using the word “motherfucking” - “Marshmallow World”. No?? 😕 I have an mp3 I keep on my computer or I would never hear that song. In fact, I only discovered it from a 3-pack CD of Christmas music put out by Reader’s Digest at the turn of the century. Most people I know have never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/23 "2015-12-22T13:46:22Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I doubt I’ve heard Weird Al’s “Christmas at Ground Zero” in the wild since the 80s. Wikipedia claims that its lack of appearance since 2001 was due to the use of the term “Ground Zero” for the World Trade Center disaster. It would be kinda like the way the diet pill _Ayds_ disappeared after the start of the AIDS epidemic. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/24 "2015-12-22T14:36:09Z")
We probably need to stick to songs that WERE very popular once, or that USED to be widely sung in churches or on TV variety shows at Christmas. Among seasonal novelty songs, I hear Elton John’s “Stepping into Christmas” far too often, but never hear his “Ho Ho Ho (Who’d Be a Turkey at Christmas)” any more. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/25 "2015-12-22T15:16:02Z")
One I haven’t heard in a long time (Thank Og!), which was immensely popular in its time is _All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth_ from 1944, and made popular by a Spike Jones recording from 1947 that hit the top of the chart twice (two successive Christmases, I think). I can’t _stand_ that song. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/26 "2015-12-22T15:18:28Z")
I heard “Christmas At Ground Zero” in the wild quite recently, if this counts: it was played during the pre-show at the Rifftrax showing of **Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny**. Don’t look for that movie on YouTube if you value your sanity. Here’s one that goes in the opposite direction, one that gets played on SiriusXM occasionally but it seems not many people have heard: [“Dominic the Donkey”](https://youtu.be/hYlvfX3nwlc). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/27 "2015-12-22T15:27:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Wikipedia claims that its lack of appearance since 2001 was due to the use of the term “Ground Zero” for the World Trade Center disaster. It would be kinda like the way the diet pill _Ayds_ disappeared after the start of the AIDS epidemic. I’d say it’s a shame but then I wasn’t especially invested in the song. I’m more curious about you taking the time to investigate it 😃 No snark intended, it actually is interesting trivia to know ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/28 "2015-12-22T15:40:57Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > I heard “Christmas At Ground Zero” in the wild quite recently, if this counts: it was played during the pre-show at the Rifftrax showing of **Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny**. Don’t look for that movie on YouTube if you value your sanity. > > Here’s one that goes in the opposite direction, one that gets played on SiriusXM occasionally but it seems not many people have heard: [“Dominic the Donkey”](https://youtu.be/hYlvfX3nwlc). Oh, God. WROR in Boston plays that song many times every Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/29 "2015-12-22T16:02:41Z")
> [@Morelin](#): > > No?? 😕 > > I have an mp3 I keep on my computer or I would never hear that song. In fact, I only discovered it from a 3-pack CD of Christmas music put out by Reader’s Digest at the turn of the century. Most people I know have never heard of it. You weren’t being sarcastic? Then you’re a very fortunate person indeed. I hear it all the damn time; but my career is in retail, and we inflict “classic” Christmas glurge on our customers from Black Friday to Christmas Eve. I hear “Christmas In Killarney” about every day. I would probably like it, if I hadn’t heard it so damn often. By the way, I apologize if I sounded hostile. I wasn’t directing snark at _you_ - I hope you didn’t feel attacked. No offense was intended, I was just reacting to the irony of your comment. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/30 "2015-12-22T16:09:40Z")
It was a novelty song when it first came out, it’s still a novelty today. Christmas in Jail by The Youngsters. You also don't hear a lot of Don and Phil at Christmastime. Heard this when I was a kid but not since. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UjwSg6-QOPQ/hqdefault.jpg "EVERLY BROTHERS - Christmas Eve Can Kill You (1971)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjwSg6-QOPQ) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/31 "2015-12-22T16:10:21Z")
The one I’ve been trying to chase down is “There’s a Song in the Air” (the original schmaltzy tune not the modern iteration that uses the same lyrics). Don’t hear “Cherry Tree Carol” very often. “Gaudete Christus est natus ex maria Virgine” is still pretty rare although it seems to be coming back. “Gesu Bambino” seems to have reached its recent peak in the 1970s and I don’t hear it anywhere near as much any more. I never hear “Sing Hosannah, Halleluhjah” except when I blow the dust off my New Chrisy Minstrels album. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/32 "2015-12-22T16:12:47Z")
I used to hear [“Morris the Moose”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42_wsfIF8gA) in the 1970s and early’80s, but not at all since then. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/33 "2015-12-22T16:16:20Z")
I was going to say ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ by Bing Crosby, but I heard it just this morning. But that’s the only time so far this year. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/34 "2015-12-23T03:19:39Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Wikipedia claims that its lack of appearance since 2001 was due to the use of the term “Ground Zero” for the World Trade Center disaster. It would be kinda like the way the diet pill _Ayds_ disappeared after the start of the AIDS epidemic. Good thing Al has “The Night Santa Went Crazy” as a backup. Although I don’t hear that much in the wild, either. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HTGlUMvbhSw/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGBEgcigSMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB1G_KiztkKhCJQe6FUll7HHsqd_w "The Night Santa Went Crazy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTGlUMvbhSw) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/35 "2015-12-23T03:24:06Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I mentally classify Christmas songs into (1) songs about the birth of Christ (e.g. Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem), and (2) songs about Christmastime (e.g. Jingle Bells, Holly Jolly Christmas). With the occasional exception of Silent Night, I almost never hear any songs from the first group outside of church. Which is really too bad, because the songs in Group 2, without exception, SUCK. They don’t suck because they are secular, they suck because they suck. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/36 "2015-12-23T03:37:39Z")
Martin Mull’s “[Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeAnk8-RTpQ).” There’s also his “[Santa Fly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zyKCB1Cbg),” but I can’t find his version. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/37 "2015-12-23T03:52:06Z")
duplicate of below ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/38 "2015-12-23T03:53:26Z")
> [@Morelin](#): > > No?? 😕 > > I have an mp3 I keep on my computer or I would never hear that song. In fact, I only discovered it from a 3-pack CD of Christmas music put out by Reader’s Digest at the turn of the century. Most people I know have never heard of it. I’ve never heard it either until this thread and looked it up on Youtube. And I’ve been listening to the Christmas station here on and off since November. Now, it’s possible that it just blended into the background, it’s not like I pay that much attention, but I recognize neither the name nor the tune. ETA: Of course, this means now that the song will be everywhere I turn, I just know it. What is that effect called again? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/39 "2015-12-23T06:23:17Z")
I know it as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon but I think there are other terms for it. I don’t hear Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella often enough. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822/40 "2015-12-23T06:45:44Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I know it as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon but I think there are other terms for it. That’s the one I was thinking of! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-no-one-plays-anymore/740822.md?page=3)