My Favourite Christmas Songs

Imagine the scene, a cold Winter night in early December when up pops a tweet from the darling former Treasure Hunt vixen Wincey Willis. ( I kid you not dear reader) there is a man up North who would like to know about our favourite Christmas Songs and would we blog about it. Luckily for me I was one of (*I don't know how many exactly but to stroke my ego I'll say...) Hundreds of people who wanted to be a part of this.

That's the thing about Christmas, being a part of something...

Everyone copmplains about Christmas in one way or another; the gaudy decorations. the fact that December 25th gets earlier every year, the weather, the prices, the Mrs Santa costume that covers too much, the elf costume that doesn't cover enough...

But the one thing we can agree on is that everyone has a song, regardless of anything else. Every genre of music has at one time or another had a stab at being festive. Run DMC, Snoop Dogg, My Chemical Romance, Cliff Richard, The Darkness, Aled Jones, The Killers, The Cheeky Girls. That's barely scratching the surface. The two biggest Christmas songs on repeat belong to 70's Glam Rock and the second two belong to 80's pop. (In my opinion based on the radio station at work)

I am very grateful to @himupnorth for allowing a Lancastrian to invade his Yorkshire blog space and I hope he isn't disappointed with my choice of song...



AC/DC's Mistress For Christmas.

So what is it about the song that sums up the spirit of Christmas?

EVERYTHING!! Lets look at the boxes it ticks,

1) It has Sleigh Bells.
2) You can dance to it
3) It mentions Christmas, Reindeers, Santa, Jingle Bells, Presents.
4) It rocks!

The best Christmas songs embody everything about the season, Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody features lyrics about illicit kisses and drunked behaviour, Mariah Carey has that cheeky look in her eye when asked what she wants for Christmas and you discover that it's you. Lets go even further back in time to Eartha Kitt purring seductively about what she wants her Santa Baby to slip her under the tree.

When you're a child you're taught that Christmas time is for being a little bit cheeky, (Think about it, "There's a guy you never met before tell him what you want for Christmas and he'll get it for you." How cheeky is that?) Sometime in all the hullabaloo you get lost in the commercialism and want and money grabbing that Bankers and Oil Tycoons get off on every day. When you're getting older embrace the fun, cheeky and festive side of Christmas.

You think that when Jesus was born they didn't have a party... Oh yeah, they did and everyone came, Kings, Shepherds, Cattle and Inn Keepers.

So what are my other 4?

Jethro Tull's Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow

Ian Anderson was a madcap as they came on Top Of The Pops, treating the necessity of miming with the disgust it deserved. But his Christmas songs always had that hint of Socialist about them, look beyond yourself to others.




Sheryl Crow and Eric Clapton - Merry Christmas Baby

Sometimes to enjoy the season you need to see it through the images and the expectations instead of the reality. This song will forever make me think of New York, snowy streets, joy and Christmas Markets like the Hollywood films. I've never been to New York at Christmas, I hate to have my illusions shattered.



Cliff Richard - Little Town

Christmas memories are the best. Some are old some are new and this is one of my oldest, I always wondered why we never sang it this way at school.



Elvis Presley - Here Comes Santa Claus (Coming Down Santa Claus Lane)

Always finish on a classic. and this evokes the spirit of the 1950's just as much as Bing Crosby. Again the images in your mind are so clear it's as if you've always known Christmases like them, you have, except they've always been on the TV screen and not outside your window.




Check out the person who so kindly gave me the chance to go on about Christmas songs at his blog HIM UP NORTH - http://blogupnorth.wordpress.com/