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ROCKING AROUND THE Christmas tree, Have yourself a merry little Christmas, yadda, yadda, yadda. We get it: Christmas equals the same tired old tunes, year in, year out.
The thing is, we Irish have slightly alternative tastes when it comes to our festive warbling. Does anyone outside our race really understand why the festive season doesn’t start until we hear the first strains of A Fairytale of New York? It is after all, a song about two drunken, fighting ex-lovers, down on their luck and with only one good set of teeth between them.
The BBC certainly didn’t get it: in 2007 they edited the words “faggot” and “slut” from the lyrics so as not to cause offence. They reversed the decision within a day after criticism from listeners, the Pogues themselves and the mother of the late Kirsty MacColl who dueted with Shane MacGowan on the song.
So we should feel right at home with this top five of alternative Christmas tracks. Serial killer Santa, anyone?
1. A Spaceman Came Travelling: Chris de Burgh didn’t let us down with a ditty about a spaceman who flies into Mary and the little baby Jesus in a shed. He tells them he comes from a planet a long way from here – and presumably wakes the baby with his turbo jet engines.
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