WE all know Christmas is around the corner when the Pogues start playing on our radios.
Fairytale of New York has been a staple Christmas tune since it was first released – but the lyrics have been a point of controversy this year. Here’s why…
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When was Fairytale of New York released?
Fairytale of New York was originally released as a single on 23 November 1987.
The track is written by The Pogues’ Jem Finer and sung by their frontman Shane MacGowan, along with British singer Kirsty MacColl.
The Christmas hit has has sold close to 1.5 million copies and is a favourite festive tune for households across the UK.
In fact, in the UK, Fairytale of New York is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century.
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What are the Fairytale of New York lyrics?
The orginal lyrics of the song are:
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 f*****
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
When has the original version been banned?
BBC Radio 1 bosses have banned the original version from the radio station.
Instead, they have changed the word “f****t” — sung by Kirsty MacColl in the 1987 Christmas classic — to “haggard” while Shane MacGowan’s “slut” insult is muted.
A source told The Sun : “The feeling is that Radio 1’s listeners are younger and may not be as familiar with this song — with the original lyrics seeming quite stark.
“The label have produced a new version, and this Christmas that is the only version which will be broadcast on Radio 1.”
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An old recording of Kirsty — killed by a speedboat in 2000 — was used to change “you cheap lousy f****t” to “you’re cheap and you’re haggard”.
Meanwhile, Pogues frontman Shane’s barb that she’s “an old slut on junk” is also partly silenced.
The Radio 1 ban is not BBC-wide and Radio 2 has opted to air the song unchanged.
