# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**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 29, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/61 "2012-11-29T22:59:43Z")
> [@Reepicheep](#): > > Said the king to the people everywhere > Listen to what I say (listen to what I say) > Let us kill, o kill the boys under three > So they can’t challenge me (so they can’t challenge me) “…So they can’t challenge my sov’reignty”? ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/62 "2012-11-30T11:33:45Z")
I have a set of Christmas CDs which inexplicably contains “The Bells of (clong) St Mary’s (clong)”. While the song involves church bells, there is no mention of anything religious beyond the hint of a church wedding in the future. None of the secular trappings of Christmas are mentioned. The only line that mentions anything that can be associated with a season is “when red leaves are falling”, which happens months before Christmas. But it’s on a Christmas CD. I set my mother to puzzling this out once - she’s my go-to source of information on American movie musicals from the 1940s and '50s, because she remembers _everything_ about them. All she could come up with was that in the movie of the same name, the kids put on a Christmas pageant. That’s it. That’s the entire connection to Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/63 "2012-11-30T12:53:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I can’t think of a way to make it rhyme. _Said the king to the people everywhere Listen to what I say (listen to what I say) A child, a child could make my kingdom fall So go forth and slaughter them all So go forth and slaughter them all_ And **Bilbo** : that one line is why. Lewie is somewhat baffled by its adoption as a Christmas song too. ---
**Author:** ![Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/73ab20/32.png) [@Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver_of_Nightmares)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/64 "2012-11-30T15:27:36Z")
_The Power of Love_, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. That one gets regular airtime over here during December. I don’t know why either, but I don’t mind much. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/65 "2012-11-30T16:20:39Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > I set my mother to puzzling this out once - she’s my go-to source of information on American movie musicals from the 1940s and '50s, because she remembers _everything_ about them. All she could come up with was that in the movie of the same name, the kids put on a Christmas pageant. That’s it. That’s the entire connection to Christmas. Sounds like your mom has it, for the most part. The [Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_of_St._Mary%27s) on the the movie says: > [@](#): > > _The Bells of St. Mary’s_ has come to be commonly associated with the Christmas season, due most likely to the inclusion of a scene involving a Christmas pageant at the school, and the fact that the film was released in December 1945. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989/66 "2012-11-30T21:07:02Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > My Favorite Things, from _The Sound of Music_. I’ve never understood why that gets lumped in with Christmas songs. I don’t get it either. Another song that I have never thought is really about Christmas is “Hard Candy Christmas” when the song sounds like that it is more about a person not letting a difficult day get them down. God bless you always!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holly [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-christmas/641989.md?page=3)