10 Christmas Songs That Are Actually Good
7. The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale Of New York
THE Christmas song in my mind: it can out-jolly and out-cynic the best of them, even if you can only figure out half of what Shane MacGowan is saying. In what started out as a bet between then-producer Elvis Costello against lead singer MacGowan and banjoist Jem Finer to make a Christmas song that wasn't all mushy and feelings-y, this certified platinum Celtic rock hit has been voted the best Christmas song of all time by various TV, radio, and magazine polls in the UK and Ireland.
A tale about an Irish immigrant bidding to escape the ongoing potato famine only to wind up in a drunk tank dreaming about a female character from a ballad sung by a cellmate, writers Finer and MacGowan wanted to highlight the fact that Christmas isn't a magical time for everyone and sometimes it just sucks. How delightful.
Beaten to the No. 1 spot upon its initial run by the Pet Shop Boys' You Are Always on My Mind, the track has charted in the top 20 every year since 2005 when it was used to raise funds for various homeless charities and the Justice for Kirsty campaign which sought to find the truth behind MacColl's sad passing in 2000.