I was listening to She’s Right On Time by Billy Joel, and I realized that, even though it has a few oblique references to Christmas (“turn on all the Christmas lights,” “when I set up my Christmas tree,” and two references to choral music), the Christmas aspect is fairly immaterial to the song itself.
I know there have to be more songs like that. I’m specifically excluding Christmas carols, AND songs that are Christmas standards like “Winter Wonderland” that may not be Christmas songs, but are associated with the holiday anyway. I’d also like to stay away from any parody or otherwise humorous and/or novelty recordings.
So, come on, Dopers. What are some songs set around Christmas, where Christmas is not a plot point?
“Brick” by Ben Folds Five (a song about abortion) takes place “six AM, day after Christmas” and the protagonist at one point goes to “sell some gifts that I got.”
“River” by Joni Mitchell and “Same Old Lang Syne” by Dan Fogelberg both mention Christmas early, but aren’t really songs about Christmas. (I put 'em in my holiday music mix anyway.)
Hard Candy Christmas from The Best Little Whorehouse om Texas. Sung as the “ladies” trim a Christmas tree, it’s really a where-do-we-go-from-here song.
I have no idea if this song is known at all in the US and elsewhere outside the UK - shame if it isn’t, because it’s a good little pop song. It was basically about war; releasing it for Xmas was a record company decision:
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ETA: On reflection, this is almost exactly the opposite of what the OP asked. Oh well - sorry 'bout that.
[ul]
[li]“Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl (It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank…)[/li][li]“Stagger Lee” by The Grateful Dead (1940, Xmas eve, with a full moon over town…)[/li][/ul]
Elton John’s “Merry Christmas, Maggy Thatcher” from Billy Eliot: the Musical. Though it purports to be a Christmas song, it’s actually an exercise in sarcasm and vitriol. Note the chorus:
(When Thatcher died, the cast asked the audience if it was appropriate to include the song. The answer was a resounding “Yes.”)
I’m torn about this. Yes, it’s a unconventional non-festive song and of course it qualifies for this thread, but it’s my personal favorite Christmas song and that of million others, especially in Britain, and it brings bitter-sweet emotions for me in every season, so it also works as a festive song.
My favourite Christmas song is I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake which - if you squint REALLY hard and are very charitable - ALMOST fits the OP since, according to Greg Lake himself, it is not a Christmas song but a protest against the commercialisation of Christmas. Possibly related to that the video is set in a desert.
Perhaps a better fit for the OP would be Frankie Valli and December 1963 (Oh What A Night) since it references “late December” in the lyrics but does not make any mention of Christmas.
“Cause Cheap is How I Feel” by Cowboy Junkies doesn’t mention Christmas but it starts with:
It’s the kind of night that’s so cold, when you spit it freezes before it hits the ground
And when a bum asks for a quarter, you give a dollar; if he’s out tonight he must be truly down
And I’m searching all the windows for a last minute present to prove to you that what I said was real
For something small and frail and plastic, baby, 'cause cheap is how I feel
The rather good All About Eve had a song called **December **which despite a passing reference to “the leaves saved from a mistletoe kiss” is not a Christmas song.
I’m going to suggest Wham!'s Last Christmas. Even though it’s (inexplicably) become a seasonal staple, it’s a song about lost love and really has nothing at all to do with Christmas. In fact, if you changed the title and lyrics to “Last Easter” or “Last Flag Day” or “Last August,” it would not make one whit of difference as far as the song goes.