7 of the Saddest Christmas Songs for a Melancholy Holiday
Every year, people turn up the volume on Christmas songs to cheerfully celebrate the holiday season. The tunes touch on topics like family, love, gifts, and togetherness. Many Christmas songs turn away from the warmth of the holiday, however. Here are seven songs for when you want to embrace the bluer shades of the season.
‘That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!’ by Sufjan Stevens
Many of the songs in Sufjan Stevens’ extensive Songs For Christmas have a level of melancholy to them. Lyrically, “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever” leans into the heartbreak. In the song, Stevens writes of memories of sledding, but the second verse brings out a very different side to the holiday.
“Our father yells, throwing the gifts in the wood stove, wood stove / My sister runs away, taking her books to the schoolyard, schoolyard,” he sings.
The song ends on a grim note.
“Silent night, holy night / Silent night, nothing feels right.”
‘7 O’ Clock News / Silent Night’ by Simon & Garfunkel
In “7 O’ Clock News / Silent Night,” Simon & Garfunkel harmonize on the classic Christmas carol. Layered in with their singing is the voice of newscaster Charlie O’Donnell, who delivers news from 1966. In the song, O’Donnell announces the dispute over the Civil Rights bill, the death of comedian Lenny Bruce, Martin Luther King Jr.’s plans for an open housing march, the grand jury’s indictment of murderer Richard Speck, protesters at hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and Richard Nixon’s urgings to increase the war effort in Vietnam.
Phoebe Bridgers released an updated version of the song with Fiona Apple in 2019. In her version, The National’s Matt Berninger mentions the Sackler family, the guilty verdict of police officer Amber Gyger, the Supreme Court’s review of a law that would end access to abortion, and Mick Mulvaney’s assertion that the Trump administration withheld $400 million in aid to the Ukraine.
Both versions of the song are haunting reminders of pressing issues during the holiday season. Its presence on any Christmas playlist is a sharp departure from the cozier tones of the season.
‘If We Make It Through December’ by Merle Haggard
In 1973, Merle Haggard released “If We Make It Through December,” a song about a father who lost his job at a factory and is looking forward to warmer, happier times. The song is hopeful, but still sad, a reminder of the struggle many families face during the holiday season.
“Heaven knows I’ve been working hard / I wanted Christmas to be right for Daddy’s girl / I don’t mean to hate December / It’s meant to be the happy time of year / But my little girl don’t understand / Why Daddy can’t afford no Christmas gear,” he sings.
‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues feat. Kristie MacColl
Don’t let the rousing chorus fool you. “Fairytale of New York” is a Christmas classic that begins in the drunk tank of a New York City jail. Shane MacGowan and Kristie MacColl tell the story of an Irish couple whose American dream is crushed.
The song has hopeful notes, with promises of Broadway and “rivers of gold.” The lonesome opening verse and back and forth between MacGowan and MacColl wick out of the warmth, though.
“I could have been someone / Well so could anyone / You took my dreams from me / When I first found you,” they sing to each other.
‘River’ by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell’s “River” stretches the boundaries of what it means to be a Christmas song, but it mentions the holiday and cold weather. In it, Mitchell sings of discomfort and heartbreak and wanting to escape both.
“But it don’t snow here / It stays pretty green / I’m going to make a lot of money / Then I’m going to quit this crazy scene / I wish I had a river / I could skate away on.”
Mitchell broke up with Graham Nash in 1970, so the lyrics are likely referencing the end of their relationship.
‘Christmas Eve Can Kill You’ by the Everly Brothers
In “Christmas Eve Can Kill You” the Everly Brothers sing of a lonely hitchhiker feeling hopeless about the prospect of getting a ride. As he walks through the snow and watches drivers pass him without a second thought, he admits that he likely wouldn’t pick himself up if he were driving.
“The saddest part of all is knowing if I switched with him / I’d leave him stumblin’ ragged by the road / I’d ride that highway to the arms of my sweet family / And forget about the stranger in the cold.”
‘On Grafton Street’ by Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith’s 1994 song “On Grafton Street” details a recurring theme in Christmas music: wistful loneliness. She sings of being far from home while remembering someone who is no longer in her life.
“It’s funny how my world goes round without you / Oh you’re the one thing I never thought / I could live without / I just found this smile to think about you / You’re a Saturday night / Far from the madding crowd,” she sings in the chorus.
