THE FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK – THE POGUES

Another seasonal offering for you.

In the UK we have a bizarre preoccupation at this time of year. I’m not talking about our eternal hope that it will snow at Christmas – no, what I’m talking about is our perennial love of CHRISTMAS NOVELTY SINGLES.

Every year there is a huge rush to bet on which song will be the Christmas No. 1. Indeed many artists now release singles purely to win the coveted title of “Christmas No. 1”. The recent UK “X Factor” TV show was timed so that the finale led to the winner being announced the week before Christmas, with his single being released so as to be the red-hot certainty prime for the title. Though at the time of writing, this unusual ditty, by a previously unheralded group called Nizlopi, about a boy who wants to take his dad’s JCB to school so he can fight bullies (in it’s own way that has SPIRITUAL WEIGHLIFTER written all over it, did this Blog not have another purpose) was in the No. 1 position. See I told you it was bizarre! [well what can you say about such hits as "Mr Blobby", "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)", Bob the Builder 's "Can We Fix it?" and "There's No One Quite Like Grandma"?]

But standing head and shoulders, I mean HEAD AND SHOULDERS, above all other Christmas songs – is the greatest, I said THE GREATEST, Christmas song of all time. [I can’t say Christmas No. 1 of course, for it was kept from the coveted spot by The Pet Shop Boys’ "Always on my Mind"]. I’m talking about "The Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues, sung so majestically by mad, bad Shane MacGowan and angelic Kirsty MacColl.



It’s not the most joyous of songs, and certainly is in contrast to the more jolly songs like "Mr Blobby" and "Merry Christmas Everybody" featuring as it does the bickerings of a very drunken couple. In fact its subject matter is as melancholic and despairing as anything committed to music. However, the timing of its original release, and the inclusions of jingly bells has helped make it stick in the head as a bona fide Christmas tune.

And here’s the thing. Sometimes you can hear Christmas tunes too many times – you can tire of them - one’s CSPT (Christmas Song Pain Threshold) can soon be reached. But it does not matter how tired or strained or fed up I feel when out and about at Christmas time, whenever I hear:

"I've got a feeling,

This year's for me and you,

So happy Christmas,

I love you baby,

I can see a better time,

When all our dreams come true,"

I feel invigorated, uplifted and happy once again. The melody makes your heart soar and if you know any of the words, you can't help wanting join in wherever and whenever your hear it being played.

It’s rare to find a tune that has this effect on me and I can still remember the first time I ever heard the song – sung live, by a pint-of-wine swilling teetering-tottering Shane MacGowan and The Pogues in The Assembly Rooms in Derby.

There was not a dry eye in the house.

The ability of an Irish penny whistle to melt a grown man’s heart should not be under-estimated!