Favourite Christmas Song?

[Si Hunt]

I'd like to know what your favourite Christmas Song is!

Si.

[Rob McCow]

'In Dolce Jubilo' - The Mike Oldfield Version. Probably.

Or it could be Grandaddy with 'Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland', which features such delightful rhyming couplets as:
'Electronic bands, with frostbitten hands, Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland'

[SiHart]

I adore Merry Xmas (War is over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. That's probably my favourite.
I'm also very fond of December Will Be Magic Again by Ms Kate Bush.

My Favourite carol when I was a little 'un was "A Starry Night". I'd forgotten all about until I was drifting off to sleep last night and I remembered singing it in the nativity play with the choir at junior school. Lovely.

Here are the words:

"It was on a starry night when the hills were bright
Earth lay sleeping, sleeping calm and still.
Then in a cattle shed, in a manger bed
a boy was born, king of all the world.
And all the angels sang for him, the bells of heaven rang for him
for a boy was born, king of all the world.
Soon the shepherds came that way where the baby lay
and were kneeling, kneeling by his side.
And their hearts believed again for the peace of men,
for a boy was born, king of all the world."


Si xx

[Jeff]

"Jeff's nuts roasting on an open fire..."

and from now on that's what you'll think of every time you hear that song... I've ruined that song for my wife.

[SiHart]

@ Jeff!

Si xx

[Simon R]

I really like the late 80s synthy version of "Winter Wonderland" by The Eurythmics. I can take or leave most versions of the song but there version is really perky but starts out all sinister.

Call me controversial but I've never seen the appeal of Minger Crosby's "White Christmas". It's a dirge people!

[Jeff]

I'm a bit partial to Elvis' 'Blue Christmas'. A bit of a downer if you listen too close to the lyrics, but a good song.

[SiHart]

There are many, many miserable Christmas songs. Indeed, we have a compilation we made called "We Wish You a Miserable Christmas".

Si xx

[WhiteCrow]

I adore Merry Xmas (War is over) by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Yes I always remember than one quite sadly - it got a lot of play in 1980 after he'd just been murdered. What a horrible day that was.

I'm fond of ... although not quite a Christmas song "Stop the Cavalry" by Jona Lewie.

I'm just going to rattle off a few songs - it's hard to really think which is the one which really is my fave overall though ...
* "I wish it could be Christmas every day" - Wizzard
* "Merry Christmas Everybody" - Slade
* "Fairytale of New York" - Great tune, and a darker side of Christmas
* "Santa Baby" - cos it's such a terribly slutty Christmas song!

[WhiteCrow]

"Little Drummer Boy" - actually a very lovely tale, and the David Bowie/Bing Crosby version seemed an amazing collision of singing generations.

Probably for very personal reasons "When a child is born" by Jonnie Mathis. It was used every year by one of our teachers for assembly, Mr "Jesse" James. Who was the most lovely man, looked a bit like a Welsh Bela Lugosi, but just the most amazing presence. We stayed friends even when he retired and he decided he wanted to do a Masters in Physics. One of those people you can't help smiling when you think about them, and feel like you were really blessed to know.

[Jeff]

Both of my daughters love the old "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" song...

A link in case it was never intoduced on your side of the pond:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7oOzszFIBcE

[Si Hunt]

I love "When A Child Is Born" by Johnny Mathis to bits. It's at once uplifting and hilarious. I love it.

And Chris Rea's "Driving Home For Christmas" as it reminds me of a Father driving home in the Christmas snow to get to his family far away.

Si.

[Matthew T]

I love Greg Lake - I Believe In Father Christmas.
And Saint Etienne - I Was Born On Christmas Day

[P-Bal]

Mimi la Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

Iconic, adorable and even the haters like Miss Carey for this one.

[Pip Madeley]

Paul McCartney - Wonderful Christmastime

[Paul Monk]

I hate that song.

I like Wombling Merry Christmas. It rocks.
The Polyphonic Spree's version of Merry Xmas (War is Over)
And Saint Etienne's version of Driving Home for Christmas

[Stephen Morgan]

When I was a nipper my favourite was always Harry Belafonte's version of Silent Night on some big old black wax disc called a 78rpm, it had Mary's Boy Child on its b side which was also nice.
In later years when I was buying 45s, the Glam Rock era in 1973 threw up the absolute corker that is Slade's Merry XMas Everybody, it was number one on my eighteenth birthday and always reminds me of that, and if in the right mood, ie, drunk, it's the only Christmas record that'll reduce me to tears.

[Andrew Curnow]

if in the right mood, ie, drunk

That made me laugh!!

I'm quite a fan of Shakin' Stevens Merry Christmas Everyone (or whatever it's called) and has David Essex' Winter's Tale been mentioned yet? It's another actually rather gloomy Christmas song, and yet just the sound of it cheers me up and makes me feel very Christmassy.

And on the subject of gloom, I have an inexplicable fondness for Elton John's Cold As Christmas (I'm not even 100% sure that was ever a Christmas release - does anybody know?) which is about a couple whose relationship has basically lost all feeling ("It's July but it's Cold as Christmas in the middle of the year"). Again, though, it just makes me feel all Christmassy...

...as does (if I may put my anorak on for a moment) the song from near the end of The Christmas Invasion (is it called Song For Ten or something).

[Stephen Morgan]

I have an inexplicable fondness for Elton John's Cold As Christmas (I'm not even 100% sure that was ever a Christmas release - does anybody know?) which is about a couple whose relationship has basically lost all feeling ("It's July but it's Cold as Christmas in the middle of the year"). Again, though, it just makes me feel all Christmassy...

Elton's Cold As Christmas was released as a Christmas single Andrew, it's from his album Too Low For Zero released in early 1983. The song bears no relation to Christmas as you rightly point out, it was released in December that year just because it has Christmas in the title. It only reached #33 on the charts.