10 Christmas songs to keep the Jingle Bells ringing

It is that time of the year again. A time to come together
with family, to rekindle old friendships, and especially in the case of 2021, to be
grateful for whatever we have achieved during the difficult times couped up
inside our metaphorical pigeon cages for several months, while sparing a
thought for those who had to face the worst of what this year brought.

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A major component of the Christmas festivities, however, are
songs that embrace the holiday season in its truest sense, and they do not
necessarily need to be Christmas carols. Over the years, Christmas songs have
been put out by several artists, bands or groups focussing on the festivities
while not mandatorily veering into religion; rather, staying locked into the
warmth of companionship, celebration and memories of previous celebrations while
a hopeful glance at the near future being the main themes of the tracks.

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Let’s take a deep dive into an assortment of holiday songs
that might just be a perfect fit for this year’s melancholic yet hopeful
Christmas celebrations –

10.     
Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)
– The Ramones: Joey Ramone’s appeal pours through in the song for his lover
(apparently) to stop their squabble at least for the holiday season. A
spirited, shrill-voiced riff used as an underlaid feature, however, predicts to
the listener that the breakage in tensions is more likely to be temporary for
them.

9.     
Mary’s Boy Child – Harry Belafonte: The only
ever number to have hit Christmas Number One twice, Mary’s Boy Child was
recorded first by Calypso star Harry Belafonte in 1956, and later by Boney M in
1978 in a disco reincarnation. With its slow-and-steady arrangement producing
magic even 60 years after the first release, this is undoubtedly one of the
Christmas classics.

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8.     
2000 Miles – The Pretenders: Even though the
track resembles the classic ‘It’s Christmas and I miss you’ trope, with
Chrissie Hynde’s exquisite vocals getting a beautiful complementing guitarwork
by Robbie McIntosh, the song takes a newer meaning, of tribute most likely. In
case of the listener having knowledge on the outset regarding the band’s
personal touches, the track rises in meaning to a certain degree in paying
tribute to McIntosh’s predecessor, James Honeyman-Scott, who died a year before
the song came out.

7.     
Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto – James
Brown: The king of Funk puts his little touch in this Christmas special. In the
song Brown asks Santa to go into the Ghetto and “tell ‘em James Brown sent ya”.
The tempo seemingly hides behind itself some longing. The song may even raise a
wry smile – the often-forgotten ones in midst of the festive buzz have been
recognised, they have given a chance, as if, to enjoy the holiday season the
way Brown himself never could.

6.     
Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea: For a
song having as unusual a theme as driving home for the holidays, the song
somehow stuck around, probably a lot longer than it ought to. Coming up in the
chart twice in the UK – #53 in 1988 and #33 in 2007, the song made the charts
in Norway as well, making into the Norway’s Top Three a few years back.

5.     
O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Sufijan Stevens: Not
quite content with what he had just released in 1996 (a 42-track ‘Songs for
Christmas’ album), Stevens came out with a 101-song collection. While taking a
pick from the bunch would be difficult, Steven’s reworking of the traditional
hymn ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ is quite something. With a haunting undertone,
the number ultimately talks about rejoicing. Also covered later on by Belle and
Sebastian, this is the only track in this list which probably has a religious
form, but simultaneously also is a novelty spun out from tradition that is
simply unmissable.

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4.     
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee:
Even though songwriter Johnny Marks did not celebrate Christmas being Jewish
himself, a 13-year-old Brenda Lee’s voice in this rock-n-roll classic instantly
turned her into a legend. The song famously features in the movie Home Alone as
the protagonist Macaulay Culkin’s soundtrack for his pretend-party.

3.     
Last Christmas – Wham! : Sure to be included as
one of the most famously listed songs of Christmas with many renditions in
later years, George Michael’s wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve delivery in the
song about failed romance features a perfect cocktail of heartbreak horror, holiday
festivities and celebration of life – in short, the entire package.

2.     
All I want for Christmas is You – Mariah Carey:
Nearly 26 years after its release, Mariah Carey’s all time favourite Christmas
single has finally topped the UK charts in 2020, beating the previous entry in
this list, ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham!. This song, by its own right, has become
close to a standard year after year, being almost identical to the celebration
itself. A Christmas song that truly, only works during Christmas, Carey apparently
took only 15 minutes to sit down and write the song with Walter Afanasieff. Be
it an imitation of Phil Spector, the song overcomes its unoriginal roots by
getting transcended into a Christmas phenomenon.

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1.  
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues and Kirsty
McColl: It is debatable whether Fairytale is a deserving first ranker in the
list, especially above the last two. While it definitely does not lack in
popularity, the song has an inexplicable sound to it, produced by a folk-punk
band that takes the listener through four-minutes-something of hope,
heartbreak, despair, and ultimately love. The songwriting and performance is
seemingly done in a unique sync, so as to almost immortalise the song as long
Noel lasts itself.

Merry christmas and happy holidays!