I just arrived back in the US after many years away yesterday and that return journey reminded me of this amazing song, which I’ve been playing as my Repeat Rotation Video today. Sung by an Irish band actually, it’s The Pogues and ‘Fairytale of New York‘.
The song was recorded with Kirsty MacColl and is a Christmas song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, both members of The Pogue. It’s also the most successful Christmas song of all time in the UK, and well worth a listen whether it’s the holiday season or not.
The song always reminds me of Irish immigrants heading to the US for a better life and the rough lives they often lived once they got there so,for me, going back to America it was quite appropriate. Yes, it’s a bit sad, as it’s about a couple that have fallen on hard times, but the lyrics are beautifully written by Shane MacGowan and you get the feeling by the end of it that things might just work out for them after all.
Listen to The Pogues singing Fairytale of New York below and, if you don’t think it’s one of the best songs ever written by the end of your first listen through, I’m questioning your music taste. (Okay, probably not, but you know what I mean).