It’s Christmas time! That means it must be time for a top 5 christmas songs post right? Right. Let’s get stuck into it!
Number 5: Christmas Eve / Sarajevo – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
This song will always have an incredibly special place in my heart. An instrumental medley of “God rest ye merry gentlemen” (which to me is a quintessential Christmas carol) and “Schedryk” (the melody behind “The Carol of the Bells”). As a standalone piece, it embodies Christmas for me; however, the story behind the song is a moving triumph of humanity in the face of inhumanity, being based (somewhat loosely) on the story of Vedran Smailović (the Cellist of Sarajevo).
In the story, an elderly, well-respected musician returns to his beloved city of Sarajevo, only to find it in complete ruins. What most broke his heart was that this was not through natural disaster or outside invaders; his own people did it. Instead of falling into despair, he played his Cello atop a ruined fountain in the town square and played Mozart and Beethoven. When asked why, he said it was to “prove that despite all evidence to the contrary, the spirit of humanity still lived in that place”.
Number 4: Run Rudolph Run – Lemmy, Billy F Gibbons, Dave Grohl
Originally written and released by Rock and Roll royalty Chuck Berry, this song was re-recorded in 2008 by Armoury for a Christmas compilation album that pulled together hard rock and heavy metal artists to create unique “supergroups” for each song. Titled “We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year”, this album reimagines various Christmas favourites as though they were made for metalheads.
Supergroup is the perfect name for the trio of Dave Grohl (Nirvana & Foo Fighters), Billy F Gibbons (ZZ Top) and Lemmy (Motörhead). The song retains the original flavour of the Chuck Berry classic while bringing the typical bluesy-rock style that put ZZ Top on the map.
Number 3: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Anberlin
While perhaps not as commercially successful as Michael Bublé’s cover, Anberlin brings a refreshing alt-rock twist to the Darlene Love Motown classic. Released in 2007 on their “Lost Songs” album, a compilation of B-sides, demo tracks, covers and acoustic versions of previous songs, their cover seems to bridge the gap between pop-rock and alt-rock and almost bring a U2 sound to the song.
Initially, it was not a successful song when originally released in 1963, and it didn’t even manage to make the charts; it has charted in the UK singles chart each December since 2018. Interestingly, this song was co-written by Phil Spector (a famed songwriter and, later, convicted murderer) and three others. Spector thought the song was strong enough to warrant a non-seasonal release that same year, so the song was re-written to “Johnny (Baby Please Come Home), also performed by Darlene Love, with Cher providing backing vocals. This would come full circle in 2023 when Love duetted the song with Cher on her 2023 version of the song.
Number 2: Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) – The Darkness
It’s not Christmas until this song is on the radio. This seasonal classic puts a hilarious twist on the traditional Christmas song. While it includes gifts, mistletoe, Santa, trees and decorations, all of it is terrible because the love interest has left. Not to mention the sneaky inclusion of a children’s choir singing “bellend” in the background!
Hailing from Lowestoft in Suffolk (we’ll forgive them for not being from Norfolk), The Darkness burst onto the scene in 2003 with their debut album “Permission to Land”, winning three Brit awards in 2004. Their glam rock sound took the world by storm, the then newcomers released this song in December 2003 to join the race for Christmas number one in the UK singles chart. Despite being the bookie’s favourite to win, it was beaten by the Gary Jules & Michael Andrews cover of “Mad World” by Tears for Fears (recorded for the movie Donnie Darko). However, the race was close, as The Darkness only sold just under 5,000 fewer copies.
Number 1: Father Christmas – The Kinks
Taking the top spot, for me at least, comes from punk rock royalty: The Kinks. Released in 1977, it’s a story told from the point of view of a department store Santa, who is beaten up by a gang of working-class children. Their reason? They don’t want toys for Christmas; toys aren’t practical. They want money. What else do they want? A job for their father and a machine gun if he’s got one. “Give all the toys to the little rich boys” serves as the final line of the chorus.
While an incredibly fun song to listen to and dance to, it must be placed into the context of the late ‘70s. Still reeling from the oil crisis, strikes, power cuts and the three-day working week, the economy of the UK was in shambles. This was the pre-Thatcher era, and the working classes struggled to make ends meet. While a fun, punk song that turns the traditional Christmas single on its head, it’s also a powerful reminder that children often see, hear and understand more than they are given credit for.
Christmas is a fantastic time of year. But don’t forget what it’s all about Putting your feet up, getting good and drunk, and muttering, “They don’t make Christmas TV like they used to”. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Notable mentions:
Last Christmas – Jimmy Eat World
Thank God It’s Christmas – Queen
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