# The saddest Christmas songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2004, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252 "2004-12-17T02:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/61 "2004-12-18T01:05:04Z")
The first time I ever heard “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was when they played it during the firing squad scene of _The Execution of Private Eddie Slovik._ Talk about heavy-handed! The song gets extra creepiness points for invoking pagan deities (The Fates). “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is positively upbeat! ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/62 "2004-12-18T02:28:35Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > OK, what kind of crack was I on when I posted this? I think I heard that variant once, but the line is actually “If only in my dreams.” This is the Stephen Sondheim variant of the song, obviously. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/63 "2004-12-18T19:02:15Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > \*A Christmas song \* by Jethro Tull: Not so much a sad Christmas song as an angry one. Btw, how could I forget Vera Lynn’s THE LITTLE BOY THAT SANTA CLAUS FORGOT, which I first heard in the movie Pink Floyd’s The Wall and found on a compilation Christmas album of women singers last year. Oh! Watch the movie of Kurt Vonnegut’s MOTHER NIGHT with Nick Nolte & you’ll never hear Bing Crosby’s WHITE CHRISTMAS the same way again. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/64 "2004-12-18T20:14:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Malodorous** > > _Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon, about the Christmas truce of 1914. Both uplifting, because the soldiers are able to put aside the war for a day, and depressing because the next day they have to return to shooting at eachother._ I have to leave the room if I hear this song, because it makes me bawl like a baby. Even though “O Holy Night” isn’t a sad song, it always makes me tear up, right around “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.” ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/65 "2004-12-18T20:16:24Z")
That would me who bawls at “Christmas in the Trenches,” actually. **LHoD** , as evidenced by his “Christmas Shoes” parody, isn’t _quite_ as sentimental as I am. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/66 "2004-12-18T20:21:05Z")
> [@burundi](#): > > **LHoD** , as evidenced by his “Christmas Shoes” parody, isn’t _quite_ as sentimental as I am. Hehe…of the whole year, I’m least cynical around Christmas, but there ARE limits to my sappiness, and those goddamn shoes are clearly well over the line… ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/67 "2004-12-18T20:24:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > _Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons_. ☹ That’s the first one I thought of: \*Crowded streets, busy feet, hustle by him Downtown shoppers, Christmas is nigh There he sits, all alone, on the sidewalk Hoping that you won’t pass him by. Should you stop, better not, much too busy You’re in a hurry, my… how time does fly In the distance, there’s a ring of laughter And in the midst, of the laughter he cries.\* Also, **"In The Ghetto"** I’m not sure it qualifies as a Christmas song, but they always play it at Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/68 "2004-12-18T23:37:05Z")
[_It Wasn’t His Child_](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/christmas-songs-2/it-wasnt-his-child-14387.html) always gets me. I’m an atheist, but one with a strong emotional attachment to a lot of Christian mythology. But the worst – the one that always kills me is [_Hard Candy Christmas_](http://www.dollyon-line.com/archives/lyrics/hardcandy.shtml). For some reason it reminds me of the Christmases when my husband was out to sea. I always thought of those as hard candy Christmases… God, I’m crying just thinking about it, and he’s been retired from the Navy for 3 years. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/69 "2004-12-18T23:47:27Z")
> [@Jess](#): > > But the worst – the one that always kills me is [_Hard Candy Christmas_](http://www.dollyon-line.com/archives/lyrics/hardcandy.shtml). For some reason it reminds me of the Christmases when my husband was out to sea. I always thought of those as hard candy Christmases… God, I’m crying just thinking about it, and he’s been retired from the Navy for 3 years. I love _Hard Candy Christmas_. Of course, my context is probably different, since I’ve never heard the Dolly version and only know the RuPaul version from his Christmas album a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/70 "2004-12-19T02:26:19Z")
-Enya’s version of _Silent Night_ -Dido’s _Christmas Day_ -_The Cat Carol_ ---
**Author:** ![Iceland\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@Iceland\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iceland_Blue)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/71 "2004-12-20T11:15:12Z")
Simon & Garfunkel’s Silent Night/7 O’Clock News ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/72 "2004-12-20T15:31:05Z")
The Squirrel Nut Zippers’ _Gift of the Magi_ gets me more prone to weepiness than I’d like to be… ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/73 "2004-12-20T17:26:23Z")
_Kill A Tree For Christ_ by Celtic Elvis. I realize it was intended to be satiric, but it makes me think twice about putting up a Christmas tree anymore. I know there’s a policy about posting song lyrics here, but you can probably guess by the song title what it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/74 "2004-12-20T18:17:27Z")
I’m going to chime in in support of **I’ll Be Home for Christmas**. What you have to remember about this song is that it [came out in the middle of World War II](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000010/default.html), and is being sung from the perspective of a lonely GI somewhere far from home. So when the line “I’ll be home for Christmas…if only in my dreams” comes along, it has some extra meaning. Tears me up, man. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/75 "2004-12-20T18:31:36Z")
I don’t know who sings it, but it’s being played on XM Radio a lot on Special X. **Christmas Wish** is sung to the tune of _Sleepwalk_ by someone who sounds a lot like Chris Isaac. It starts off with the sound of waves like someone is standing on a pier. The lyrics speak of a lover whose only wish is that his woman could come back to him (she’e either dead or left him.) At the end, he whispers something like “I miss you. I’ll see you soon.” …waves …gunshot …splash. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/76 "2004-12-20T19:34:23Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > _Kill A Tree For Christ_ by Celtic Elvis. I realize it was intended to be satiric, but it makes me think twice about putting up a Christmas tree anymore. > > I know there’s a policy about posting song lyrics here, but you can probably guess by the song title what it’s about. Heh. I’ve heard Darryl Cherney’s “Spike a Tree for Jesus”–is it anything like that? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/77 "2004-12-20T19:38:44Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I just saw the movie a couple of weeks ago. The scene does happen in winter, as the family had just made a family of snowpeople in the yard that day. Garland’s character is sneaking back into the house after a clandestine meeting with her beau and finds Tootie sitting in the window well of the bedroom with her doll, pouting about the move. Garland sings the song and the little girl runs outside when it’s over and starts hacking at the snowpeople with a broomstick because she feels like her whole world is falling apart with the impending move. I didn’t see that movie, but I did see an episode of _Family Affair_ in which Uncle Bill has Cissy, Buffy, and Jody go to some kid’s home for a Christmas party months early. It’s a pleasant surprise to them, until Bill tells his nieces and nephew that the kid has leukemika… ☹ ☹ ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/78 "2004-12-20T19:40:42Z")
God, I’m sorry I misspelled “leukemia” in that last post… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/79 "2004-12-20T20:03:18Z")
“O come, O come, Emmanuel” is about the saddest sounding Christmas hymn I can think of. I love it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Swede\_Hollow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Swede\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swede_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252/80 "2004-12-21T01:55:18Z")
Noel Paul Stookey’s (of Peter, Paul & Mary) _ **Christmas Dinner** _ will always get to me. It’s the story of a homeless boy on Christmas Eve. Will Vinton’s Claymation made a short video for this song called _ **Christmas Gift** _. Very good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-saddest-christmas-songs/280252.md?page=5)