The Greatest Christmas Song Ever

The other day (HERE) I mentioned the greatest Christmas Song ever…and if you know me or follow the blog, it should not surprise you in the least that it is by the Pogues (blogged about HERE, HERE and HERE).

Fairytale of New York is without a doubt on of the greatest Christmas Ballads, if not one of the best songs ever.  Don’t take my word for it, try this on-

First lets look at the Peak Positions in the charts by year-

• 1987- Number 1 in Ireland and Number 2 in the UK
• 1991- Number 10 in Ireland and Number 36 in the UK
• 2005- Number 3 in Ireland and Number 3 in the UK
• 2006- Number 6 in the UK
• 2007- Number 3 in Ireland and Number 4 in the UK
• 2008- Number 8 in Ireland and Number 12 in the UK
• 2009- Number 13 in Ireland and Number 12 in the UK
• 2010- Number 11 in Ireland and Number 19 in the UK

23 years later and it is still in the Top 20s.

On top of that, look how it has been rated on various UK based polls-

• Number 1 the VH1 greatest Christmas song chart three years running, 2004,  2005 and 2006
• Number 11 in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Christmas Moments
• Number 27 on VH1's Greatest Songs Never to Make Number One
• Number 23 on VH1's greatest lyrics
• Number 83 in Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Ever Songs
• Number 84 on BBC Radio 2's top 100 greatest songs of all time poll
• The Hits music channel rated "Fairytale of New York" number one in 'The Nation's Favorite Christmas Song' countdown
• In December 2008 The Music Factory UK did a poll which found that the song was the favorite Christmas song.
• Number 1 song of the 80s by voters of The Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC Radio 2 & BBC Four's Pop On Trial season in January 2008.

This is not a one hit wonder but a a song that really has some legs.

I will let everyone interpret the lyrics themselves, but here is some trivia for you:

• Watch for cameos by Matt Dillon and Morgan Freeman
• Jack Daniels was the whiskey of choice on the piano during the video.
• There is no NYBD Choir, so the NYPD Pipe and Drum Corp fills in.  They also didn’t know “Galway Bay” so they sung the Mickey Mouseclub Theme and it was slowed to the songs tempo.
• Although the song finished 1987 as the 48th best seller of the year despite only a single month's sales, it was denied the Christmas #1 spot by the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Always on My Mind". MacGowan commented on this in his typically forthright manner: "We were beaten by two queens and a drum machine". MacColl later said that she did not feel they were really in competition with the Pet Shop Boys as they were doing a completely different kind of music.
• Censored on Dec 18, 2007 for it’s use of Faggot and Slut by BBC Radio 1, the station later backed down the same day due to public backlash. 
• This is the ONLY song that I have ever done at Karaoke….as a duet with my beautiful wife Debi
• Kirsty MacColl sadly died in a tragic boating accident in 2000.

As you can see…..I 100% back this song, and I can never hear it without smiling and thinking of Debi….if we had “A Song” this would be it.

Merry Christmas everyone…be safe and have a Happy Holiday.

Cheers from Smokes and Booze.

Whiskey in the Jar and Hot Toddys

Well, tonight I have a bit of a sore throat and thought I would put the last corner of Wild Turkey to good work.

I remember as a child my Dad always having a Hot Toddy when we would come home from Ice Fishing.  We would get our own too….sans whiskey, only Honey and Hot Water (my parents were bee keepers).  It was definitely a happy memory.

The history of the a Hot Toddy can be found HERE, but y recipe for a Hot Toddy is :

• Cover the bottom of the glass with honey.
• Three fingers of HOT water
• Two fingers of Wild Turkey

I know some people like Lemon in theirs….but, we didnt have it and I am to lazy to go get some…..and it does fine without.  So, I say add what you like and enjoy.

So, while ENJOYING my drinks….I started goofing on YouTube and realized how many versions of Whiskey in the Jar there are.

I particularly like the song, especially since my mate Gary introduced me to the Dubliners so many years ago and a great wiki on the song can be found HERE

I knew of their version and the duet with THE Pogues, plus the version that Metallica put out….yet the Thin Lizzy version is totally new (Metallica was a cover of theirs).

So I thought I would start a new poll….which was better.

I put 4 of them here for your perusal:

The Dubliners

The Dubliners and Pogues

Thin Lizzy

Metallica

 

 

Voting is enabled at the right and pitch your case in the comments below.

Enjoy