Worst Christmas Song

[DTComposer]

My brain is going between "All I Want for Christmas Is Your Two Front Teeth"

Christmas just took a dark/creepy turn here...

[Scott5114]

"Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire":

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

My Favorite Things for not being a Christmas song.

Same is true of Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" (it's the theme to Peanuts and was used in all of their TV specials; but some idiots throw it in the Christmas heap because it was used in the Christmas special as well).

Psst:  The Christmas Special was its debut, which is why it is associated with Christmas.

Justin Trudeau also debuted on Christmas, but nobody associates him with Christmas, because he is not inherently Christmas-related.

[tdindy88]

Last Christmas by Wham

I just spend two weeks in Japan at the end of November and heard this song a lot in stores/malls. Apparently Christmas is more of a romantic holiday over there so I guess it sticks.

My Favorite Things for not being a Christmas song.

You win the thread, even if nobody else noticed.

I remember that when I was a kid, NBC played that movie every December, so people can be forgiven for associating it with Christmas.

It's actually been associated with Christmas since the early 60s, not long after The Sound of Music opened.  Multiple big names included it in their Christmas song collection albums in the 60s, including Barbra Streisand and Andy Williams.

But that doesn't make it a Christmas song, dang it!  Alexa should know better...

Apparently the first person to sing My Favorite Things at Christmas time was Julie Andrews herself back in 1961, four years before she played Maria in the Sound of Music movie.

[Rothman]

"Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire":

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

My Favorite Things for not being a Christmas song.

Same is true of Vince Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" (it's the theme to Peanuts and was used in all of their TV specials; but some idiots throw it in the Christmas heap because it was used in the Christmas special as well).

Psst:  The Christmas Special was its debut, which is why it is associated with Christmas.

Justin Trudeau also debuted on Christmas, but nobody associates him with Christmas, because he is not inherently Christmas-related.

I did not know this about the Prime Minister.

Got a copy ot A Charlie Brown Christmas' score and Linus and Lucy is in there.

[wanderer2575]

My first thought is 12 Days of Christmas, it's long and repetitive, and most of the gifts are stupid.

Have you tried The 12 Pains of Christmas?

My own pick:  Woe to the person standing near me when "Feliz Navidad" is heard.

[74/171FAN]

My brain is going between "All I Want for Christmas Is Your Two Front Teeth"

Christmas just took a dark/creepy turn here...

The fact I accidentally stated "Your" instead of "My" shows how obnoxious the song is.


In regard to The Redneck Christmas Songs, I'll nominate "Chasin' That Neon Reindeer" just for the President line.

[1995hoo]

Mommy Kissing Santa might have been cute or clever 60 years ago. Now it's overplayed, trite, and annoying.

With that said, last night walking around Midtown, the number of bike rickshaws that had speakers blasting "All I Want for Christmas Is You" made me very tired of that song within about 15 minutes. Especially because I don't know most of the words and the ones I do know then got stuck in my head.

[vdeane]

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyrv6NxpsKA

[texaskdog]

Silent Night by far

[Henry]

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Only this song can take a festive moment and turn it into a tragedy.

[freebrickproductions]

Baby It's Cold Outside - creepy

(Obligatory "not a Christmas song")

I'm in the camp of this song is not creepy - Frank Loesser (also the composer of Guys and Dolls) wrote this as a novelty song that he would play and sing with his wife at parties. The banter and turn of phrase is typical for the 1940s - "say, what's in this drink" is a line that's used in a bunch of movies and radio shows from the period.

The couple is flirting, and has already been hooking up ("lend me your comb"), and the woman wants to stay from the jump (she says "maybe just a half a drink more" as early as the second stanza) - but the societal mores of the time said the woman had to put up the front of being demure lest she be seen as a hussy. Her excuses and his counters get more and more ridiculous as the song goes on - references to her gossipy maiden aunt and his claiming she'll die of pneumonia.

Loesser's shows are full of female characters who have power and agency over their romantic interests, and win the "battle of the sexes." I do not believe his intent with this song in any way implied or endorsed non-consensual relations.

True, but also I'd argue that the song's very much aged poorly in a way the writer probably couldn't predict. After all, the sexual revolution was still a few decades off...

Despite being (nominally) Christian, I'd argue that a lot of Christian Christmas Hymns, especially the ones various artists and musicians decided to record for Christmas albums, very much count among my least favorites. Ironically, Sleigh Ride, Jingle Bell Rock, and Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time tend to rank higher for me, or at least some versions do.

[tchafe1978]

Last Christmas by Wham

Not just the original version by Wham, but also the countless remakes done by whomever. Just spend a little time in Walmart this time of year and you'll hear at least a dozen other versions of it, and I'm not being hyperbolic at all.

[bm7]

Yesterday I heard a song at the store I hadn't heard before, "Baby I'm Coming Home" by Ally Brooke. The opening two lines of the song are:

Snow falling down from the sky
I'm running all the red lights

And the award for "Christmas song whose singer is most likely to get into a car crash" goes to...

[catch22]

My Favorite Things for not being a Christmas song.

You win the thread, even if nobody else noticed.

I remember that when I was a kid, NBC played that movie every December, so people can be forgiven for associating it with Christmas.

It's actually been associated with Christmas since the early 60s, not long after The Sound of Music opened.  Multiple big names included it in their Christmas song collection albums in the 60s, including Barbra Streisand and Andy Williams.

But that doesn't make it a Christmas song, dang it!  Alexa should know better...

I'm with you.  My 6th grade class way back when had to sing this as part of my elementary school's Christmas pageant.  Given its placement in the movie where Maria uses it to calm the children, I thought it was a stupid choice and told my teacher that.  Her reply:  "Well, it just sounds like a Christmas song."  Uh, not to me it didn't (and still doesn't).

[WillWeaverRVA]

Despite having worked in retail and being subjected to Christmas songs on repeat for hours on end, none of the songs in the poll bug me very much. My absolute most hated songs, though:

Happy Xmas (War is Over) - I personally don't consider this a Christmas song, it's a Vietnam War protest song

My Favorite Things - this isn't a Christmas song and The Sound of Music isn't a Christmas movie

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - this song is extremely irritating to listen to, plus the singer has never received any royalties

We Need a Little Christmas - no, not right this very minute

Wonderful Christmas Time

Little Saint Nick - it's literally Little Deuce Coupe with different lyrics

Do They Know It's Christmas - probably one of the most insensitive Christmas songs ever written

Baby It's Cold Outside - for obvious reasons

Last Christmas...but specifically the version by the Glee cast - The original song is fine. The Glee version takes it and makes it teeth-rottingly sugar sweet and it's incredibly irritating.

[Rothman]

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

That said, if people can't accept that phrasing has changed meaning over the years ("fun drink" versus "secret drugging"), then it's just unfortunate that the resulting offense prevents the song from continuing to be broadcasted.

[mgk920]

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - this song is extremely irritating to listen to, plus the singer has never received any royalties

And a glleeful song about what is regarded by many as the least attractive and most dangerous mammal in all of Africa.



Mike

[kphoger]

Apparently the first person to sing My Favorite Things at Christmas time was Julie Andrews herself back in 1961, four years before she played Maria in the Sound of Music movie.

That bolded word is important.  The Sound of Music hit Broadway in November '59.

I'm with you.  My 6th grade class way back when had to sing this as part of my elementary school's Christmas pageant.  Given its placement in the movie where Maria uses it to calm the children, I thought it was a stupid choice and told my teacher that.  Her reply:  "Well, it just sounds like a Christmas song."  Uh, not to me it didn't (and still doesn't).

Winter-related phrases
warm woolen mittens
sleigh bells
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver-white winters

Could be interpreted as Christmas gifts:
packages tied up with strings

Then again . . . Raindrops on roses . . .

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

That said, if people can't accept that phrasing has changed meaning over the years ("fun drink" versus "secret drugging"), then it's just unfortunate that the resulting offense prevents the song from continuing to be broadcasted.

Agreed with you on all points.

The lyrics really sound to me like the inner turmoil of two lovers deciding between (a) parting ways before their romantic urges get the better of their self-control and (b) giving in to those urges and saying To hell with it!

But some phrases just haven't aged well into our modern era.  "I ought to say no" implies nowadays that she's being pressed against her will, even if that wasn't the song's original intent.  The very next line, "At least I'm gonna say that I tried", very poetically shows the inner tension going on—that she only plans to give a token effort at turning down his advances, just enough to make herself feel better later on—but such subtlety gets drowned out by other phrases.  And that's the problem, when you get down to it:  the lyrics are so full of hints and shadows and tension, that a casual listening doesn't tease out that real meaning, and instead all listeners hear are things like "what's in this drink?".

[CtrlAltDel]

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

Also, it's not about Christmas. It just gets lumped in with Christmas songs because the weather it mentions is cold, in line with an number of other songs people have mentioned.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

Also, it's not about Christmas. It just gets lumped in with Christmas songs because the weather it mentions is cold, in line with an number of other songs people have mentioned.

To be fair, does anyone listen to winter-themed music of any kind after December 25?

[74/171FAN]

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

Also, it's not about Christmas. It just gets lumped in with Christmas songs because the weather it mentions is cold, in line with an number of other songs people have mentioned.

To be fair, does anyone listen to winter-themed music of any kind after December 25?

That is the problem I have noticed. The northeast tends to get more snow in January, February, and March than December so why stop winter music after December 25th?

[formulanone]

Do They Know It's Christmas - probably one of the most insensitive Christmas songs ever written.

As much I detest the overused phrase "...unless you're living under a rock...", it's so egregiously, smugly, and glaringly obvious it's that time of year.

[Henry]

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

That said, if people can't accept that phrasing has changed meaning over the years ("fun drink" versus "secret drugging"), then it's just unfortunate that the resulting offense prevents the song from continuing to be broadcasted.

Agreed with you on all points.

The lyrics really sound to me like the inner turmoil of two lovers deciding between (a) parting ways before their romantic urges get the better of their self-control and (b) giving in to those urges and saying To hell with it!

But some phrases just haven't aged well into our modern era.  "I ought to say no" implies nowadays that she's being pressed against her will, even if that wasn't the song's original intent.  The very next line, "At least I'm gonna say that I tried", very poetically shows the inner tension going on—that she only plans to give a token effort at turning down his advances, just enough to make herself feel better later on—but such subtlety gets drowned out by other phrases.  And that's the problem, when you get down to it:  the lyrics are so full of hints and shadows and tension, that a casual listening doesn't tease out that real meaning, and instead all listeners hear are things like "what's in this drink?".

Well, the man does have good points, and credit him for offering to hold her hands that are "just like ice", and also to take her hat while complimenting on her swell-looking hair. Also, if nothing else, he is being honest in bringing up the fact that there are "no cabs to be had out there," plus I see concern in him while he points out her potential death if she takes her chances with the raging storm. "So really I'd better scurry"? How about calling your folks and inform them you're all right?

[GreenLanternCorps]

Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Only this song can take a festive moment and turn it into a tragedy.

Oh you sweet summer child, you've never heard Red Sovine's "Billy's Christmas Wish (Faith in Santa)" have you...

Grandma mercifully died quick under that reindeer.

Yes, it is a country song, why do you ask?

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm on the side of the line that considers Baby, It's Cold Outside a song of mutual flirtation and the haters read too much of a modern take into the lyrics.

Also, it's not about Christmas. It just gets lumped in with Christmas songs because the weather it mentions is cold, in line with an number of other songs people have mentioned.

My takeaway is that a lot of the people being offended by the song tend to be of the those that don't really get how dating works.