# Songs that aren't Christmas songs, but which still sound Christmassy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527 "2010-11-05T00:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/41 "2010-11-06T22:04:43Z")
[Weasel Stomping Day](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k76IGLi6jWI&ob=av3e) ---
**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 7, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/42 "2010-11-07T01:42:29Z")
Tons of songs about winter get played during the $mas (well, that’s my abbreviation…) season: “Let It Snow,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “Winter Wonderland,” etc. Only natural that they’d be associated with the holidays. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/43 "2010-11-07T01:47:46Z")
I’ve always thought Eric Johnson’s [Cliffs of Dover](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2zosc_eric-johnson-cliffs-of-dover-austin_music) sounded like Christmas music. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/44 "2010-11-07T02:38:00Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Exactly what I was going to post…The Bangles version, though. I think it’s the jingle bells at the beginning and the fact that it played in “Less Than Zero” at Christmas time. I think it’s the “Hear the Salvation Army band” line followed by the brief brass quote in the original version. ---
**Author:** ![hamwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hamwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hamwater)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/45 "2010-11-07T13:11:16Z")
_Linger_ by the Cranberries always makes me think of Christmas, even though it is not a happy song. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/46 "2010-11-09T04:52:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sure, if you don’t already associate it with _The Exorcist_. Maybe the main theme, but I highly doubt that if you heard the entire piece that you’d think it’s Christmas music. Plus, the main theme doesn’t have tubular bells in it anyway - and they definitely _do_ sound Christmas-y to me. Also, I’m one of those people who heard the song well before they ever saw the Exorcist, and heard it without knowing at all that it had been used in a major motion picture. I was quite jolted by its appearance as incidental(?) music in the movie. – I’ve seen “I Believe in Father Christmas” on at least one Christmas compilation, and find it to be somewhat like the use of Born in the USA as a patriotic song. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/47 "2010-11-09T11:53:01Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Whenever I watch NFL on Fox, I always wonder why they’re playing Christmas music. (Their theme song prominently features the “giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let’s go” riff from “Sleigh Ride.”) That’s not as bad as mine: the opening riff to the Colbert Report sounds like the intro to a rock-out version of O Come All Ye Faithful. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/48 "2010-11-09T13:25:58Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > Vince Guaraldi’s Linus & Lucy (Charlie Brown theme). I don’t think it was written originally/specifically for the TV C.B. Christmas special but that’s what a lot of people associate it with and it gets radio airplay during the holiday season. I think it was written specifically for the Christmas special. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/49 "2010-11-09T14:09:31Z")
The Dickies’ “Whack The Dalai Lama” always puts me in a holiday mood. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/50 "2010-11-09T14:38:46Z")
Tasmin Archer’s [Sleeping satellite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuhDDx49TTw) Spice girls: When two become one. ---
**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 9, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/51 "2010-11-09T18:52:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve seen “I Believe in Father Christmas” on at least one Christmas compilation, and find it to be somewhat like the use of Born in the USA as a patriotic song. I’m glad I’m not the only one who realizes that. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/52 "2010-11-09T20:13:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s not as bad as mine: the opening riff to the Colbert Report sounds like the intro to a rock-out version of O Come All Ye Faithful. You mean [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmEfFlbqbbY)? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/53 "2013-12-07T19:50:28Z")
Old thread, I know, but I started it. Nyah! Anyhow, I said … > [@elmwood](#): > > Coldplay’s _Viva La Vida_ seems to still get endless airplay on radio stations around here. Every time I hear the song, the fist thing I think is “Why are they playing Christmas music in July? Oh, damn _Viva La Vida_ again. Never mind.” And the past couple of weeks, on radio stations that have switched to all-Christmas music formats, mixed in among the caroling crooners and 1970s novelty songs, I’ve been hearing … _Viva La Vida_. So, radio stations, make up your mind! Is _Viva La Vida_ a Christmas song or not? ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/54 "2013-12-07T19:56:33Z")
The first movement of Mahler’s [Symphony No. 4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VpwwEI8Yj0). ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/55 "2013-12-07T20:09:22Z")
And a few more from the classical repertoire that sound like actual Christmas songs: Bach, [Gavotte from Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D. Major BWV 1069](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klc_wJJl0X0): “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” Bach, [Fugue in B-Flat Major BWV 560](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqGKxKBg-Y8&t=2m9s) - “Feliz Navidad” Shostakovich, [Prelude in D-Flat Major Op. 87](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05SaB1beRYU) - “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/56 "2013-12-07T21:22:44Z")
The theme from _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_ has always sounded Christmassy to me, in the sense that it reminds me of other Christmas-themed music. [Listen here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct5-__9VTAY), especially to all the bellwork. The descending four-note riff at 2:07 may as well be hummed by elves. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/57 "2013-12-07T22:13:07Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > Technically, Jona Lewie’s [Stop the Cavalry](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOe18JcatZo) isn’t a Christmas song. It was originally released in summer. Rather O/T – but can anyone clarify to me what the lyrics of this song (I find said song, quite catchy) mean, or are about – or are they just surreal blather, not intended to have any meaning? My best guess, is the words being the supposed sentiments of some poor sod in the German army in World War II, in Russia in very inclement weather late in the year, begging the Allied leaders (“please, Mr. Churchill…”) to come to terms with his country and end the war, so that he can be “home for Christmas”. Or maybe that’s way off the mark… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/58 "2013-12-07T23:34:57Z")
I was listening to the radio recently when [Grapefruit Juicy Fruit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1S3oRmb7so) was playing and my SO thought it was a Christmas song at first, because of the melody. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527/59 "2013-12-08T00:06:18Z")
> [@glowacks](#): > > I’ve seen “I Believe in Father Christmas” on at least one Christmas compilation, and find it to be somewhat like the use of Born in the USA as a patriotic song. Um, that’s my favorite Christmas song. Strip away the hype and the snow and the freebies, and you are left with hope and faith, in the future at least, if not in a specific deity. I love that song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-arent-christmas-songs-but-which-still-sound-christmassy/559527.md?page=2)