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They were both monster talents, it was just distributed differently.
Shakespeare’s Law on Lennon vs. McCartney
McCartney wrote most of their good songs; Lennon wrote most of their great ones.
Corollary: McCartney wrote most of their weak songs. Lennon wrote most of their hideous ones.
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Another vote for “Little Drummer Boy”. I’m a cynical hardass when it comes to songs and movies, but there’s just something about that song that makes my eyes water.
(I do enjoy singing Christmas hymns, though, especially the old school ones. I try to avoid Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel – it brings up too many nasty associations with the Crusades.)
I just got to hear the Christmas Shoes song again, and was delighted to listen to it all the way through with the con artist interpretation in my mind.
Imagine my surprise when I realized I had it all wrong.
As cynical as I thought I was being, I really wasn’t being cynical enough.
My interpretation was about a streetkid who scores a bit of loot by making an old man cry with a fake sob story. But that’s not really what the song is about.
It’s really about a studio musician who scores a huge chunk of change by making millions of listeners cry with a fake sob story.
I knew it was about a con artist; I just misjudged the scale.
Daniel