🎄
The answer to the question "what is the greatest Christmas song of all time?" At least IMO.
Some problematic lyrics (admittedly, in character - an unreliable narrator in the voice of the late, great Shane MacGowan, as it were)
But otherwise magically fantastic and a tune routinely recognized by the British public as their holiday favorite (above such chestnuts as Wham's "Last Christmas," for starters)
Written by Shane and his Pogues bandmate Jem Finer over the course of two years (featuring a troubled recording history and a swap of female vocalists from Cait O'Riordan -- who was romantically involved with the band's producer at the time, Elvis Costello, so when Elvis left the building, so did she -- to the late Kirsty MacColl), it's an Irish-style folk ballad that MacGowan explained like this:
"I sat down, opened the sherry, got the peanuts out and pretended it was Christmas. It's even called "A Fairy Tale of New York", it's quite sloppy, more like "A Pair of Brown Eyes" than "Sally MacLennane", but there's also a céilidh bit in the middle which you can definitely dance to. Like a country and Irish ballad, but one you can do a brisk waltz to, especially when you've got about three drinks inside you... But the song itself is quite depressing in the end, it's about these old Irish-American Broadway stars who are sitting round at Christmas talking about whether things are going okay."
Whether apocryphal or not, MacGowan told people that the song came about as the result of a wager between the band and Costello that the group wouldn't ever be able to write a Christmas hit single.
As of December 2023, the song was certified sextuple platinum in the UK and is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in Britain. I made a point of playing it on every Christmas radio show I ever hosted or participated in, it's that great and that much a part of the pop firmament.
Shane's original handwritten lyrics below.
Nov 20, 2024
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This song first came out in 2016
But it feels just as relevant here in 2024.
I have long loved Mac (Superchunk and Portastatic frontman), Merge Records, really anything that the Chapel Hill Gang does is gold.
And as we all know, nothing gold can stay. 😔
"Happy new year, it can't be this one again."
Aug 24, 2024
⭐
Incredible. Described in interviews as the “most punk rock” song the band ever recorded based on the lyrics. So beautiful
Feb 5, 2024
There aren’t many bands or songs out there you can point to and say “this changed my life” but this band and song did.
It contains one of the dirtiest guitar licks ever recorded, an earworm of melody and noise.
They helped me discover the Velvet Underground 🍌(and kick-started the so-called Paisley Underground movement that gave birth to the Bangles among others).
My band could even play this song and it sounded BOSS (not every cover did, ha). So simple anyone could play it; but only THEY could write it.
I wrote about the PaIsley Underground years later for Magnet: https://magnetmagazine.com/2001/05/18/one-nation-underground-the-story-of-the-paisley-underground/
God bless Steve Wynn and Co 🎶 this one's still a keeper many decades later.
Apr 10, 2024
Top Recs from @coreydubrowa
The man responsible for dozens of Teenage Symphonies to God
"Sad songs about happy things" (the first time, as a kid, I can recall the sweet/sour combo of melodies that could make you cry attached to songs about endless, bottomless love)
I've long since lost track of how many weddings and funerals I've attended that have featured this song; suffice it to say, "a lot."
God only knows what we'd been without him 🙏🏻
Jun 11, 2025
May 22, 2025
Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024