"It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank..."

Once when I was in Ireland I asked a bartender what he thought of Shane Macgowan. His reply pretty much sums up the man:

"Well, he's our greatest living poet, isn't he?"

Macgowan is the lead singer of the legendary Irish folk-punk band, The Pogues. And he's a raging alcoholic. And he's got a mouth full of rotten teeth. And, yes, he's our greatest living poet. But this post isn't about him (I'll save that one for another time), it's about his song, "Fairytale of New York."

Of all the lovely carols and hymns that float through the air around Christmas, it's probably my favorite, maybe because it balances its sweetness with charming little codas like this one: "You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot, Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it's our last."

It's the tale of two Irish immigrants in New York and how their lives and love go wrong (or right, depending on how you hear the song). Macgowan's delivery of the sadly unfolding story is perfectly drunken and his duet partner, Kristy MacColl, manages to sound both wistful and seriously pissed off over the course of the song's three and a half minutes. Really, the whole thing is perfect.

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 were 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 were ringing out
For Christmas Day

Click here to download - Fairytale of New York by The Pogues

BONUS! Click here to download a cover - Fairytale of New York by Stars

Watch the VIDEO for "Fairytale of New York," featuring Macgowan, MacColl, and Matt Dillon.

Read a recent article in which Dillon calls the video the highlight of his career.