# Christmas songs that have nothing to do with Christmas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989 "2012-11-24T16:19:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/21 "2012-11-24T20:07:10Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Perhaps you’ve never heard the lyrics to the Hallelujah Chorus. It’s explicitly about Jesus Christ. It a common case here of folks responding to a question in a Thread Title without incorporating the fuller explanation of the OP. **Thread Title:** “Christmas songs that have nothing to do with Christmas” **OP:** “no mention of Christmas, Jesus, Santa, elves, the North Pole, or magic tinsel” It’s hard to get all the details into a Thread Title, but then again it is hard for an OP to get people to dismiss the question they _thought_ they were answering in order to then accommodate the fuller details. Such are the challenges of starting a Thread. I’ve started Threads that have failed the balance in worse extremes. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/22 "2012-11-24T20:19:17Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Perhaps you’ve never heard the lyrics to the Hallelujah Chorus. It’s explicitly about Jesus Christ. Yes, but obviously you’ve not aware of the structure of Handel’s _Messiah_. The Hallelujah Chorus is explicitly from the Easter portion of the concerto. Therefore, it has nothing to do with Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/23 "2012-11-24T21:23:50Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Perhaps you’ve never heard the lyrics to the Hallelujah Chorus. It’s explicitly about Jesus Christ. This is true but, as others have mentioned, it ain’t about Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/24 "2012-11-24T22:57:40Z")
And in fact, the entire concerto is more associated with Easter than with Christmas. It’s only a couple of selections from it, such as “Unto Us a Child is Born”, that are Christmas-related. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/25 "2012-11-25T01:11:43Z")
Marshmallow World March of the Wooden Soldiers ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/26 "2012-11-25T01:52:30Z")
Baby It’s Cold Outside ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/27 "2012-11-25T02:08:27Z")
Well, as long as we’re doing song-plugging (love the “Drummer Boy” alternate, and bienville’s use of rhyme is really impressive!)… I’d always hated how un-Christmas-y “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” was, with the endless list of “Give us…Give us…” No “I’d rather there be no more wars,” no “And if you can’t make my little sister walk again, at least bring her something nice,” no spirit of giving at all! Well, if you want something done right, they say, do it yourself. So I did: **JOLLY OLD ST. NICHOLAS** **(21st CENTURY VERSION)** COPYRIGHT N 2011 by Sam A. Robrin. Creative Commons, blah, blah, woof, woof. Go ahead and use it (hey, _I_ lifted the melody), but if you make a little money on it, I want some! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0OtM-4x22pE/hqdefault.jpg "Jolly Old St. Nicholas") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OtM-4x22pE) Jolly old St. Nicholas, Glad to see you’re here! There’s a special Christmas gift That I want this year. We live in a big, warm house, Have three meals a day, Clothes, and toys, and way more games Than we’ll ever play. You’ve been generous and kind To our family. Thanks for the surprises left Underneath our tree. But we got to worrying When we heard about Hungry, homeless families Made to do without. So we talked among ourselves; This year, we’ve agreed— Even my dumb brother!—To Help the kids in need. Skip our house this Christmas Eve— We don’t need more stuff! Give those children what we’d get— For us, that’s gift enough. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/28 "2012-11-25T08:08:02Z")
I’m shocked no one has mentioned this yule-time classic: [Walkin’ Round in Women’s Underwear](http://www.bobrivers.com/#v8730c6i23). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/29 "2012-11-25T09:10:53Z")
Great work there, **Sam A. Robrin**! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/30 "2012-11-25T19:06:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Along similar lines, I take the song “Little Drummer Boy” as proof that Mary really was a saint. You’ve just given birth, you’re sleeping (or at least, trying to) in a pile of straw, you’ve been traveling for days on the back of a scrawny old donkey, and now the neighbor’s kid is coming over and playing a drum in your face? And you’re still able to smile at him? Yeah, that’s sainthood, right there. > > Back to the OP: “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” is clearly religious, but not about Christmas per se. And you can also toss in Pachabel’s canon and “Linus and Lucy” (which was first played in the Peanuts Christmas special, but doesn’t actually have any connection to the holiday). > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I rewrote the final verse last year. We’ll take it from where the kid offers to do his Gene Krupa impression: > \ The Annoying Drummer Boy What a Wonderful World shows up at Xmas time. I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/31 "2012-11-25T19:24:42Z")
There’s also the classic :Markin’ Up My Winter Wonderland" [http://www.karenshanley.com/2006/12/marking-up-my-winter-wonderland/](http://www.karenshanley.com/2006/12/marking-up-my-winter-wonderland/) ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/32 "2012-11-25T20:30:40Z")
My favorite Christmas song is Sleigh Ride. As far as I can determine, no mention of Christmas is made. I like every version I’ve heard, but I’m fond of the Carpenter’s rendition. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/33 "2012-11-26T06:56:59Z")
> [@Mona\_Lott](#): > > My favorite Christmas song is Sleigh Ride. As far as I can determine, no mention of Christmas is made. I like every version I’ve heard, but I’m fond of the Carpenter’s rendition. Good choice. Not only does it not mention Christmas, it even includes the line “there’s a \*birthday \*party at the home of Farmer Gray…” which could so easily have been a xmas party. It’s like it’s an anti-Christmas carol. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/34 "2012-11-26T07:38:55Z")
So, are we going to be hearing lots of “Merry Christmas” this year? I didn’t hear anyone saying “Happy November feasting.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/35 "2012-11-26T23:34:05Z")
> [@Mona\_Lott](#): > > My favorite Christmas song is Sleigh Ride. As far as I can determine, no mention of Christmas is made. I like every version I’ve heard, but I’m fond of the Carpenter’s rendition. According to Wiki, it was the most popular “Christmas” song of 2010 and 2011, based on tracked airplay those years. Of course, the lyrics were an afterthought; Leroy Anderson’s original piece was an instrumental sans words. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/36 "2012-11-27T18:16:37Z")
Well, there’s always Joni Mitchell’s “I wish I had a river” which, although it mentions Christmas, is about as much about the holidays as “Born in the USA” is about patriotism. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/37 "2012-11-27T20:33:35Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > According to Wiki, it was the most popular “Christmas” song of 2010 and 2011, based on tracked airplay those years. > > Of course, the lyrics were an afterthought; Leroy Anderson’s original piece was an instrumental sans words. I used to like the lyrics a lot, but now I’m not sure that I don’t prefer it as an instrumental piece. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/38 "2012-11-27T20:42:49Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Good choice. Not only does it not mention Christmas, it even includes the line “there’s a \*birthday \*party at the home of Farmer Gray…” which could so easily have been a xmas party. It’s like it’s an anti-Christmas carol. And they have coffee and pumpkin pie. I’ve heard it explained as a Thanksgiving Day song. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/39 "2012-11-28T01:56:15Z")
Well, even in New England, taking a sleigh ride at Thanksgiving is a bit dicey, not to mention all that stuff about the weather. I simply think that the lyrics that were written to evoke generalized winter-ish images. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/40 "2012-11-28T13:02:37Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > My Favorite Things, from _The Sound of Music_. I’ve never understood why that gets lumped in with Christmas songs. It’s the “Bright paper packages tied up with string” line that somehow qualifies it. Plus I think _The Sound of Music_ got aired a lot around Christmas for a while and that one song somehow stuck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989.md?page=3)