# Depressing Christmas Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147 "2007-12-16T00:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/21 "2007-12-16T09:07:05Z")
“Christmas in Prison” by John Prine. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/22 "2007-12-16T09:08:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] “Christmas in Prison” by John Prine. [/QUOTE] Wow. I was just about ready to link to its lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/23 "2007-12-16T16:01:10Z")
[_If We Make It Through December_](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/haggard-merle/if-we-make-it-through-december-491.html) - **Merle Haggard** : _I got laid off down at the factory And their timing’s not the greatest in the world Heaven knows I been workin’ hard I wanted Christmas to be right for daddy’s girl Now I don’t mean to hate December It’s meant to be the happy time of year And my little girl don’t understand Why daddy can’t afford no Christmas cheer_ ETA- Damn. **installLSC** beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![WomanofScorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@WomanofScorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WomanofScorn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/24 "2007-12-16T19:14:36Z")
The 9/11 Silent Night song, [here](http://www.dearallofyou.com/sacredheart/sacredheartafterpleasehelpkeep.html). Ignore the cheesyness of the page, and just listen to the words. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/25 "2007-12-16T19:30:46Z")
**Pretty Paper** - Willie Nelson (also performed by Roy Orbison) **Same Old Lang Syne** - Dan Fogelberg (Despite the title, the song’s setting is a snowy Christmas Eve.) **2000 Miles** - The Pretenders [YouTube clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30kXXTdmGCo&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/26 "2007-12-16T19:53:42Z")
No one mentioned **River** by Joni Mitchell yet? Is the first song I think of when I think “sad holiday music”. It’s like the anthem for Seasonal Affective Disorder. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/27 "2007-12-16T19:58:44Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] _Christmas at Ground Zero_? [/QUOTE] I’ve always preferred _The Night Santa Went Crazy._ The extra gory version too, where he dies. ---
**Author:** ![Pithy\_Moniker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8dc957/32.png) [@Pithy\_Moniker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithy_Moniker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/28 "2007-12-17T18:54:54Z")
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka] Oh my f-ing God, [this](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/carlisle-bob/christmas-shoes-10186.html) has to be the worst and most depressing Christmas song since Dear Mr Jesus. I mean, seriously?! It has the most pathetic components you can conjure up - little boy, poverty, dying mother, empty gesture, ‘Christmas’ spirit (buying things for others even if you don’t feel like it). [/QUOTE] I came in to mention this song. It’s especially nice how the singer thinks that god sent the boy to remind him what the holiday is about. God says, “Sorry about your mom kiddo. There’s this guy that’s forgotten what Christmas is about.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/29 "2007-12-17T19:34:28Z")
[_A Dysfunctional Family Christmas._](http://snltranscripts.jt.org/90/90idysfunctional.phtml) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/30 "2007-12-17T19:40:09Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Nor do I. To me, the message of AFoNY is that ‘love will out’. [/QUOTE] Interesting. What makes you read it like that? I’m with the ‘depressing’ side, myself. In the last two verses, while he changes his tune from slagging her off to going back to his protestations of loving her, she continues to the end claiming he’s a loser, who she’d have been better off without. The first half of the last verse, specifically: Male: I could have been someone Female: Well so could anyone You took my dreams from me When I first found you He then goes on to protest his love, but she doesn’t reply at all. Doesn’t give me a feeling of Love Will Out, at all. ---
**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:** [December 17, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/31 "2007-12-17T19:49:16Z")
[I Don’t Remember Christmas](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHDoPuQOPJA): I don’t remember Easter I do not remember Fall So it’s possible December Never happened after all. Did we trim the tree together? I can’t get the image through. Cause I don’t remember Christmas And I don’t remember you. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/32 "2007-12-17T21:23:17Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” reveals in one verse that the singer actually **won’t** : Edit: Dammit, didn’t preview before posting. [/QUOTE] I’ll echo that song. What a sad, sad verse. I always think it’s about a soldier who’s not allowed or able to come home for the holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/33 "2007-12-17T21:29:49Z")
“Father Christmas” by the Kinks is a bit of a downer. So is “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer”, though I guess that depends on how you feel about grandma. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” always gets me wondering if it’s really daddy under that beard, or if there’s something darker going on. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/34 "2007-12-17T21:47:27Z")
All of them. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/35 "2007-12-17T21:58:32Z")
[This album](http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1219779/a/Christmas+Songs:+The+Nettwerk+Christmas+Album.htm) is a pretty solid collection, with one notable exception. “The Cat Carol” by Meryn Cadell makes you want to put a bullet through your head! Lyrics [here.](http://www.tsrocks.com/m/meryn_cadell_texts/the_cat_carol.html) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/36 "2007-12-17T22:31:13Z")
The original version of [Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas](http://www.phillyburbs.com/christmascarols/merrylittle.shtml): _In a year we all will be together If the Fates allow Until then, we’ll just have to muddle through somehow_ ---
**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:** [December 17, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/37 "2007-12-17T22:39:21Z")
[We Need A Little Christmas](http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/mame/weneedalittlechristmas.htm) also has a very depressing second and third verse. It amazes me that people sing it upbeat. The Broadway Christmas CD also has this lyric: Fill up the stockins It’s a long time since I had good memories Slice up the fruitcake. It’s time we hung some tinsel on that bayberry bough. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/38 "2007-12-17T23:20:43Z")
[Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXVcrWO5FCg) ---
**Author:** ![Skylark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Skylark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skylark)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/39 "2007-12-18T01:03:13Z")
I think the one bit in Charlie Brown Christmas where everyone’s ice skating and Charlie Brown’s walking along is pretty sad. Maybe it’s just the placement of the song with the scene, but just hearing the recording it’s softening. _Christmas time is here Happiness and cheer Fun for all that children call Their favorite time of the year_ ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2007, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147/40 "2007-12-18T01:07:39Z")
It’s a combination of things, not the song itself, I think. My grandmother’s favorite Christmas carold was O Holy night, and she died near Christmas 24 years ago. My mom says that when I was a kid, I would just sob at Away in a Manger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/depressing-christmas-songs/430147.md?page=3)