Christmas Music
Singing Controversial Songs For All To Hear
The holiday season is one of the most joyful times for many people around the world. As time has progressed, many songs relating to the holiday season, specifically Christmas, have come out and become classics. However, as many of these so-called classics were written earlier in time, some are starting to be seen as more controversial for their disturbing underlying truths.
One of these classics is Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer. Obviously this song is about an elderly woman getting run over by Santa’s Sleigh. Some of the lyrics from this song are causing some people to want it to no longer be played on radios. “She'd been drinkin' too much eggnog, And we'd begged her not to go, But she'd left her medication, So she stumbled out the door into the snow.” These lines are particularly some of the most controversial of the bunch due to their underlying meanings of drinking and eventual death. As a child, I never saw anything wrong with the song and I never read too far into it, so I don’t see why kids now would either. For many however, this could be triggering if that have experienced or lost someone to substance abuse.
Another song that perhaps is not so classic that was found to be disturbing is a song called The Christmas Shoes. This song is one of the more depressing songs on this list and that is simply where the controversy comes from. It is directly about a poor little boy who is trying to buy shoes for his dying mother. It is told from the perspective of an old man looking on to the situation. One of the lyrics is, “Could you hurry, daddy said there's not much time. Mom meets Jesus tonight.” Unfortunately as the song continues the listeners learn that the boy does not have enough money to buy the shoes he wants. So of course, the old man chips in to help the boy buy the shoes and then stands there, feeling good about himself as the little boy has reminded him what Christmas is all about. Ultimately, this song is a very sad reminder that Christmas is not filled with joy for everyone.
Some other classics that are slightly less controversial but still disturbing are I’ll Be Home For Christmas and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. For one, I’ll Be Home For Christmas is about a WWII soldier longing to come home to his family for Christmas. It’s a fairly short song with some repetitive lyrics, but essentially the song ends with, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” This implies that this soldier does not know if he will be home and that he is going to die before he gets to go home for Christmas. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is controversial for more obvious reasons. It can be inferred, Dad is the one in the Santa suit that Mom is kissing. However, in the child's eyes, Mom is making out with a large man in a red suit while Dad is pleasantly sleeping upstairs. For these reasons alone, this song is controversial.
The last song, and perhaps the most known controversial song is of course, Baby It’s Cold Outside. As many know, this song is about a new couple who has come back to the man's house. Now in the actual score of the song, the male is written as “The Wolf'' and the female is written as “The Mouse.” That alone is quite disturbing. Then as the song progresses lyrics are sung like, “Say what’s in this drink?” and the phrases, “Mind if I move in closer? At least I'm gonna say that I tried. What's the sense of hurting my pride? I really can't stay.” In few words, this “Christmas Classic” can be seen as promoting date rape.
In recent years, many classics like these have turned to controversy. Some of these songs seem to not be harmful like Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, but they may trigger those who are close to those who suffer from drug and alcohol issues. Others seem simply sad and depressing like I’ll Be Home For Christmas and The Christmas Shoes. The song that openly receives the most controversy is Baby It’s Cold Outside. For obvious reasons this song could trigger people and ultimately do more harm than good. However it is still a classic, and people may not look into its true meaning. What do you think? Will these songs make or break your Christmas playlist? Check out the Lifeguard youtube channel for all of the songs and see if you consider them controversial.
By: Bella Melfi