Fairytale of New York
It was Christmas Eve, babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me
“Won’t see another one”
And then he sang a song
‘The Rare Old Mountain Dew’
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you
Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen-to-one
I’ve got a feeling
This year’s for me and you
So, Happy Christmas
I love you, baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true
“They’ve got cars big as bars, they’ve got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you, it’s no place for the old
When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me Broadway was waiting for me
You were handsome!
You were pretty, Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging
All the drunks, they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night
The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing ‘Galway Bay’
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day
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”
The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing “Galway Bay”
And the bells are ringing out
For Christmas day
I could have been someone”
Well, so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me, babe
I put them with my own
Can’t make it all alone
I’ve built my dreams around you
The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing “Galway Bay”
And the bells are ringing out
For Christmas day
Hør sangen
Hør sangen
Om julesangen Fairytale of New York
“Fairytale of New York” blev skrevet af Jem Finer og Shane MacGowan og indspillet af The Pogues med Kirsty MacColl. Den udkom i 1987 og blev en anderledes juleklassiker. Dens personer står langt fra forestillingen om en fejlfri juleaften, og netop det er en vigtig del af sangens virkning.
Fortællingen veksler mellem håb, skuffelse og skænderi hos to mennesker med en fælles fortid. New Yorks gader og julens musik danner baggrund, mens relationen mellem dem står i centrum. Det rå sprog og de modstridende følelser gør sangen mere dramatisk end mange andre julehits.
Den høres stadig hver december, fordi den lader julen rumme både ømhed og vanskeligheder. De to stemmer gør fortællingen levende og minder om, at minderne om en højtid ikke altid er enkle. Den fortæller ikke, at julen automatisk gør livet godt; i stedet får håbet lov at eksistere sammen med svigt, minder og vanskelige ord.
