It’s so glurgy, but Christmas Shoes is sad.
[sub]It has me crying like a baby whenever I hear it.[/sub]
Gordon Lightfoot’s Circle Of Steel
"Red Water’ by Type ‘O’ Negative
o/" The table’s been set for what, seven?
Just last year I dined with eleven.
God Damn Ye
Merry Gentlemen"\o
First Christmas by Stan Rogers.
Sheryl Crow’s rendition of “Blue Christmas.”
Squirrel Nut Zippers’ “A Johnny Ace Christmas”
If you have iTunes, you can check out their Bummer Christmas playlist.
Christmas at Denny’s just pours on the misery.
The original Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (from Meet Me in St. Louis) was considerably more somber than the version most of us know.
E.g. instead of “hang a shining star upon the highest bough”, it’s “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.”
“It Just Ain’t Christmas (Without the Snow)” , a recovering addict’s version of “White Christmas”.
“River” by Joni Mitchell
I Believe in Father Christmas by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
coventry carol. nothing like a murder and mayhem in a lullaby.
“This Worldes Joie” by Arnold Bax. Its basic message is Jesus must come to relieve our misery and the general suckiness of life. It is unrelentingly dreary with about five pages of a pulsing “all goeth bote Godes will, all we shall die tho’ us like ill.” Ends with the basses droning that while the upper voices wail “Jesu, help.”
“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” it is not.
The original version of “Merry Christmas Baby” is even more of a downer than the one popularized by Charles Brown. I can’t find the lyrics online but it’s about a man whose fiancee just returned his ring and he’s pleading Santa to bring her back.
I was going to add A Child’s Christmas In Wales by John Cale, but realized I have no idea what it’s about. (This is not unusual with Cale.)
“You’re All I Want for Christmas” - Brook Benton
I think the second one is “Do they know it’s Christmas.” But whatever the title is, I agree.
Randy Stonehill, “Chistmas at Denny’s”
Crap! Just noticed that Thudlow Boink beat me to it, and provided a link.
Christmas Dinner by Peter, Paul, and Mary
It’s basically about a homeless (I assume) boy out on the street on Christmas Eve, with all the warm houses with lit up windows and huge feasts on the table. He sees one window that isn’t all lit up and peeks in… sees an old lady with tears in her eyes and no food on the table. Knocks on the door, offers to share his own dinner (cheese and bread from his pocket) and she lets him in, brings out her last few drops of wine, and they share Christmas dinner together.
Makes me cry every time I sing it or hear it. But I love it, it’s beautiful.