THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

32-Pogues-Fairytale of New York.

1987-Number 2 single.

Best Bit-At 1.24. It is fitting that the greatest Christmas song in the world ever should be written and sung by Shane MacGowan, whose birthday is on Christmas Day.

Since the introduction of downloads it has made it possible for any song to re-enter the UK chart at anytime. Because of this ‘Fairytale of New York’ has charted every December since the rule changes in 2005, and in total as of 2022, it has been a hit on 20 separate occasions, but has never reached Number 1.

The Pogues (see also best songs 283) were formed in London, England, in 1982 by Spider Stacy, (vocals, and tin whistle) Jem Finer, (guitar, and banjo) James Fearnley, (guitar, and accordion) and Shane MacGowan (vocals, and guitar.) Until 1984 they were known as ‘Pogue Mahone,’ with the actual Irish spelling being ‘póg mo thóin,’ which is Irish for ‘kiss my arse.’ The name was chosen by Spider Stacy, but after complaints from Gaelic speaking people, they changed to ‘Pogues.’ The Pogues remained active until 1996, but did reform in 2001, until finally dissolving the band again in 2014. In total there have been 13 different members come and go, including Joe Strummer (1952-2002) (see also best songs 638 and 294) who was lead vocalist between 1991-1992. The discography of the Pogues includes seven studio Albums released between 1984-1996, and 24 singles issued between 1984-2005, including two re-issues of ‘Fairytale of New York.’ In the UK they have achieved seven top 40 singles, while in Ireland 15 of their singles have charted within the top 40, with ‘The Irish Rover,’ and ‘Fairytale of New York,’ both making the top spot in 1987.

‘Fairytale of New York’ was produced by Steve Lillywhite, (see also best songs 603) who at that time was married to Kirsty MacColl. In need of a female vocalist, Lillywhite asked MacColl to sing for the demo. She fit the song perfectly, and was asked to be the co-singer, along with Shane MacGowan. Kirsty Anna MacColl was born on October 10th, 1959, in Croyden, Surrey, England. On December 18th, 2000, at the age of 41, when holidaying in Mexico, she was hit and killed by a speeding boat while diving in a designated area that watercraft were restricted from entering. Kirsty MacColl who was the daughter of the Folk singer Ewan MacColl (1915-1989) (see also best songs 251) was a successful singer and songwriter, releasing five studio Albums between 1981-2000, there were also 32 singles issued between 1979-2005. Six of her singles reached the UK top 40, with the Billy Bragg written ‘A New England’ charting the highest for her in 1984, when making Number 7.

‘Fairytale of New York’ was co-written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, and was the first of three singles released from the Pogues third studio Album ‘If I Should Fall from Grace with God’ from 1988. Finer had written two songs of which neither he was totally satisfied with, and presented them both to Shane MacGowan. MacGowan has said that ‘Fairytale of New York’ came about as a result of a wager made by the Pogues’ producer at the time who was Elvis Costello, (see also best songs 836) he had jokingly challenged that the band would not be able to write a Christmas hit single, although the Pogues’ manager Frank Murray (1950-2016) has stated that it was originally his idea that the band should try to write a Christmas song, as he thought it would be ‘interesting.’ Jem Finer has said,’I had written two songs complete with tunes, one had a good tune and crap lyrics, the other had the idea for ‘Fairytale,’ but the tune was poxy, I gave them both to Shane, and he gave it a Broadway melody, and there it was.’

‘Fairytale of New York’ is a song of regret. The narrator is sat in the ‘drunk tank’ when an inebriated old man also in the cell sings a passage from the Irish ballad ‘The Rare Old Mountain Dew’, (an Irish Folk song from 1882.) This gets the narrator reminiscing about a former lover, with the remainder of the song taking the form of a ‘call and response’ between the couple. The narrator is thinking back to the time when as Irish immigrants in the 1940’s they arrived in New York with the dream of making it big on Broadway, but due to his alcoholism, and her drug addiction things didn’t work out as planned.

‘You’re a bum, you’re a punk, you’re an old slut on junk, lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed. You scumbag, you maggot you cheap lousy faggot. Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it’s our last.’