3 Depressing Holiday Songs

Pogues Christmas There are numerous places to go for happy holiday songs about snowmen, toys, and good cheer. But the holidays are often a depressing time of year for many, in part, because the songs and movies create such high expectations of perfection in our lives. So, to counter those expectations, here at Chimesfreedom we revisit three of the best depressing holiday songs, brought to you by Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, and the Pogues. Because these songs lower one’s expectations, maybe they provide a source of joy for this time of year better than some of the syrupy happy songs.

Christmas Card from  a Hooker in Minneapolis

The title of Tom Waits’s song, “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” sums it up. The song starts off with “Silent Night” to give the Christmas setting of the song, and then the “hooker” describes her life to Charley. She spins a tale about a husband and her memories, but at the end she confesses:

I don’t have a husband
He don’t play the trombone
And I need to borrow money
To pay this lawyer
And Charley, hey
I’ll be eligible for parole
Come Valentines day.

Then the singer goes back into “Silent Night,” evoking the hidden sadness that underlies that melancholy song, which is about the birth of a savior born into a fate of suffering. If you are not a Tom Waits fan, I realize his voice takes a little getting used to, but his gravely voice highlights the sadness of this tale.

The River

From the first notes of the piano introduction to “The River,” on both Joni Mitchell’s original and Sarah McLachlan’s cover, you know you are in for a depressing song even if the initial notes are from the happiest of holiday songs, “Jingle Bells.” Like the two other songs here, “The River” begins by setting the scene for Christmas: “It’s coming on Christmas/ They’re cutting down trees / They’re putting up reindeer / And singing songs of joy and peace.”

But then, the song centers on memories of a failed relationship. “Now I’ve gone and lost the best baby / That I ever had /Oh I wish I had a river /I could skate away on.”

I love the Joni Mitchell version of “The River.” Since this post was originally published, Mitchell finally released her first official video for the song in 2022. Check it out below.

Sarah McLachlan’s version may be even more well known, and it is outstanding too. So here is the McLachlan version of “The River.” But you are warned. It is depressing.

Fairytale of New York

The Pogue’s “Fairytale of New York” (1987) is probably my favorite depressing holiday song.  Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan wrote the song, which features MacGowan singing lead and trading vocals with featured British singer Kirsty MacColl.  Interestingly, when the Pogues began recording the song, MacGowan sang the male and female parts.  But record producer Steve Lillywhite suggested his wife Kirsty MacColl create guide vocals for the song, and the band realized she was perfect to use for the parts of the wife in the song.  MacGowan re-recorded his vocals to go with MacColl’s recording, so the two never actually sang together in the studio.

Despite the depressing lyrics, the joyous Irish tune lifts my spirits, in much the same way we find joy in other sad holiday stories like “Blue Christmas.” You know it is not a typical Christmas song from the first line: “It was Christmas Eve babe/In the drunk tank.” The singer then turns to memories of his “Queen of New York City” as he “can see a better time/When all our dreams come true.”

Then the band kicks in and the song features an exchange between a couple who are down on their luck.  They reflect on their hope in coming to America (“They got cars big as bars / They got rivers of gold”), tinged with dashed dreams (“But the wind goes right through you/It´s no place for the old”).

The couple fight and curse each other.   They exchange several barbs, referring to “an old slut on junk” with the holiday wish, “Happy Christmas your arse/ I pray God it’s our last.”  I have read a few different interpretations of what is going on in the song — whether it is a current relationship or a past relationship.  Despite the broken dreams of the song (“You took my dreams from me”), I like to think the song ends with a tiny sparkle of hope, “Can’t make it all alone/ I’ve built my dreams around you.”

Finally, we’re pulled back to the police station and the drunk tank,

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing “Galway Bay”
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

Beautiful.

Bonus Video Information: Recognize the police officer at the beginning of this video? He’s Matt Dillon.

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    Oxford American Southern Music Issue

    Oxford American MagazineThe Oxford American magazine recently released its Twelfth Annual Southern Music Issue, and, as always, the magazine and enclosed CD are outstanding.  Oxford American is billed as “The Southern Magazine of Good Writing,” and once a year, it devotes an issue to southern music, including a CD of the music discussed in the magazine.  I first discovered the annual music issue in 1999, when my friend and co-worker Sid gave me my first copy, and I have been following the magazine ever since.

    The “southern music” of these issues consists of nuggets of a wide variety of the good stuff.  In the CDs I have from past annual music issues, the artists included people I already knew – such as Sonny Burgess, Odetta, and the Del McCoury Band – to new discoveries for me – like the Gosdin Brothers’ 1968 recording of “There Must Be Someone (I Can Turn To)” on this year’s CD.  There are occasional odd gems, like when the 2000 CD included a recording of Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish singing “Leaning” from Night of the Hunter that made me love the song and his voice outside the context of the haunting scene in the movie.

    Last year, Oxford American started a new approach with its music issue. Instead of covering a broad geography, the magazine began to focus on one state each year.  Last year was Arkansas, and this year’s issue concentrates on Alabama.  I really liked the previous broader approach, but the state-by-state approach is growing on me.  And either way, it is the best magazine-CD out there, and it still covers a wide range of styles and time, with songs from the 1940s through 2010.  Additionally, I like that the magazine’s approach has evolved over the years so now there is a feature story about each track on the CD.

    There are also other articles, like fiction by Greil Marcus and an article about the song-writing team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.  Never heard of the Bryants?  The article will tell you the story behind their songs recorded by the Everly Brothers, like “Bye Bye Love” (recorded by the Everlys just to get the $64 session fee).

    Oxford American has struggled through the years to stay in business (like another music magazine I loved, No Depression). From my recollection, and from the missing CD in my collection from one year, the magazine’s troubles peaked in 2004 when they stopped publishing for a period. Do not let that happen again. You may pick up the magazine at most bookstores or order the magazine and back issues from the website, which also has this year’s track listing (under “Further Listening”). FYI, I have no affiliation with the magazine, I just wanted to share.

    A version of this review was also published at NoDepression.com

    Two Online Time Killers

    Chimesfreedom is posting two simple peaceful games here.  In these two games, there is no violence and the only thing that gets killed is your time, even though each game only takes a few seconds.

    Chimesfreedom's Pocket Watch

    Winterbells is a simple game with nice graphics (and soothing background music) where you click to start and then move your mouse cursor over the bells to direct the rabbit to jump as high up the scale as possible.  My computer tells me I once broke 8000, but not today.

    Redsquare has simple graphics where you grab a red square with your mouse and move it to avoid getting hit as long as possible.  I have been close, but have not broke the 18-second challenge.

    What is your high score on these games? Do you have other online games you like? Leave a comment.

    Madoff Raised a Tragedy

    Madoff
    Bernie Madoff Mugshot

    Today it was announced that Mark Madoff, the son of Bernie Madoff, apparently hanged himself in his New York City apartment. His father was arrested two years ago today.

    There are accusations about whether or not Mark Madoff and his brother had knowledge about what their father was doing and whether or not they benefited from it. But it was Mark and his brother who turned in their father.

    We do not know what other dark clouds Mark Madoff was facing, but it is easy to see that his life was changed by the actions of his father. Add to that the albatross from his own choice to betray his father. Unfortunately, Mark Madoff’s children now carry their father’s burdens, even though Mark’s wife worked to lessen the connection to their grandfather by changing their last name. According to reports today, Mark Madoff’s two-year-old son was sleeping in the bedroom next to the room where Mark hanged himself. One’s heart goes out to the family, despite the suffering created by Bernie Madoff himself. I cannot help but wonder how Bernie Madoff feels about all of the tragedy he has wrought on so many lives, including his own sons.

    Bruce Springsteen has written several songs touching on the father-son relationship, borne out of his own troubles. The lyrics to “Adam Raised a Cain” seem relevant here: “They fit you with position/ And the keys to your daddy’s Cadillac./ In the darkness of your room,/Your mother calls you by your true name.” It is unfortunate that the sins get passed on from generation to generation.

    You’re born into this life paying,
    for the sins of somebody else’s past,
    Daddy worked his whole life, for nothing but the pain,
    Now he walks these empty rooms, looking for something to blame,
    You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames,
    Adam raised a Cain.

    In one of his most beautiful songs, “Long Time Comin’,” Springsteen sings one of the best wishes a parent could have for a child. In a single line, he gently erases the curse of “Adam Raised a Cain.”

    “Well if I had one wish for you in
    this God forsaken world, kid
    It’d be that your mistakes will be your own.
    That your sins will be your own”

    On this cold winter day, may your sins be your own.

    Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via public domain.

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    Army of Shadows vs. Inglourious Basterds

    French Resistance Movie When watching Army of Shadows recently, I could not help comparing it to Inglourious Basterds.  It might not be fair to compare Army of Shadows’s realistic portrayal of the French Resistance to the Nazi-killing fantasy, but let’s do it anyway.

    There was something disorienting about the way that Quintin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds glorified violence while also portraying the enemy as a regime that glorified violence.  The movie is supposed to be fun, and I understand that.  I love some of Tarantino’s violent movies, like Pulp Fiction.  And Inglourious Basterds had some excellent scenes, with Tarantino doing an outstanding job of portraying building tension in the opening farmhouse scene and in the scene in the bar.

    But I just could not fully enjoy a movie where we were supposed to root for a sadistic character (played by Brad Pitt) against sadistic Germans when it almost seemed the Pitt character would have fit just as well in a Nazi uniform instead of a U.S. uniform had he been born in Germany.

    By comparison, one cannot imagine the “heroes” of Army of Shadows working for the Nazis, even though we see those characters doing acts of violence in a much darker movie.  Army of Shadows portrays members of the French Resistance in day-to-day activities to survive and continue the movement.

    This film seems to show what it was really like to resist a totalitarian powerful authority like the Nazis.  The individual’s struggle is to keep the resistance alive in the shadows while betrayal lurks around every corner.

    There is no large-scale successful destruction of Nazis in Army of Shadows, and, in fact, you do not see any successes toward stopping the government.  But the main characters are still heroic in their existential struggle to continue in spite of the appearance that everything is doomed.

    In the movie, Resistance leader Phillipe Gerbier (played by Lino Ventura) speaks of facing death but might as well be speaking of the movement itself when he says, “It’s impossible not to be afraid of dying.  But I’m too stubborn, to much of an animal to believe it.  If I don’t believe it to the very last moment, the last split second, I’ll never die.”

    The 1969 movie is directed by famed French director Jean-Pierre Melville and based upon a 1940’s novel by Joseph Kessel, which in turn was based on Kessel’s experiences in the Resistance.  The book appears to be out of print, and the movie only made it to the U.S. a few years ago.

    When the movie was released in 1969, French critics campaigned against it.  They believed it glorified the Resistance and Pres. Charles de Gaulle (although the movie is not about de Gaulle) during a time when the president was not popular due to his reaction to a 1968 student uprising.  So the film did not do well in France, and it was not released in the U.S. until 2006.

    More than five million viewers have watched the trailer of Inglourious Basterds on YouTube while viewers have only seen the trailer there for Army of Shadows less than 35,000 times.  After more than 40 years, it’s time to see this excellent movie you might have missed.

    Bonus Subtitle Note: Yes, for you non-French speakers, Army of Shadows is in French with subtitles, and I understand the “resistance” to foreign movies.  You cannot type on your computer or play with your iPhone while reading subtitles.  I understand.  When I put a foreign movie in my Netflix queue, I often move it down the list as it makes it way toward the top.  But do not miss out on great movies like this one just because you have to read a little, and if you saw Inglourious Basterds, you made it through the German subtitles at points.  If you want to read more about Army of Shadows, the Onion AV Club has a good discussion of the movie here.

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