Two Christmas Carols I could really do without ever hearing again....

[kyrielle]

1. The Christmas Shoes song.

Reasons given in a comment thread in 2007 are still accurate. They were phrased a little harshly, since in 2007 (with Mother dead just a year) the song hurt to hear, also, because the boy's mother is dying. Now I can listen to it with nothing but a feeling of irritation and disgust, and perhaps I'd choose less-harsh words...but the sentiment is still accurate.

...it's stupid. The kid's mother is dying, the kid is young enough to have hardly any money and to win money off strangers by looking pitiful, and he's out shopping alone? What the (expletive deleted) was his family thinking to let a young child go shopping alone at such a time?

And since when is the message of Christmas that a pair of shoes matters more than a DYING PARENT? Walk away from your family and go shopping, buying things, helping others buy things, THAT is the spirit of Christmas. Not family, not togetherness, not any sort of religion...crass consumerism. And it's so important a boy should wander alone and depend on strangers so his mama can have PRETTY SHOES...but not her son by her side. (and if he wasn't by her side, which might be uncomfortable, then surely he should be with family or a trusted family friend, not out wandering?) Also, since when does Jesus care what shoes someone's wearing? Not that kids don't have warped notions of God sometimes, but why on earth are they being reinforced by the adults?? O.o

Uh. Frankly, I think the parents in this song should be charged with child neglect, and the kid is (as many kids are) fairly clueless, consumeristic (love our society) and weak of heart.

It's STUPID. It's just STUPID.

2. Baby It's Cold Outside

I actually used to like this one, until someone pointed out to me that it's the Date Rape Carol. It's a really pretty tune, but you know...it really does deconstruct pretty well as a Date Rape Carol. She's trying to leave, and he's pressuring her, manipulating her, and trying to get her drunk. (Depending on "Say, what's in this drink?" and how she means it and what the answer is, he might also be spiking her drink with something she didn't agree to, but that's probably a bit of a stretch.)

Not at all a comfortable seasonal song of holiday cheer!

Comments

[cipherpunk.livejournal.com]

I prefer to hear "Baby It's Cold Outside" not as a date-rape carol, but as a carol of holiday flirting. A clear unambiguous "no" is always a clear unambiguous "no", but a chorus of "I really should go" can be interpreted as "I'm supposed to be leaving, but I'm amenable to being persuaded to stay." Human behavior is complex and convoluted.

I remember Mom and Dad singing this to each other at Christmas, in the tone and character that one might expect from a long-married couple. That might influence the way I interpret it today, I readily agree.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound like I'm dismissive of the date-rape interpretation. I'm just observing that there are other interpretations, and I prefer to view it through the lens of a more positive and fun interpretation. :)

[kyrielle]

I like that interpretation of it better.

Of the two songs I criticized, I'm much more ambivalent about "Baby It's Cold Outside" - because I know it's possible not to hear it that way as I didn't used to. Maybe if I think about your interpretation I can get back there.

The other...I just wish I could set my radio to turn off when it starts and back on when it finishes. :P

[angelamermaid.livejournal.com]

I agree. In most of the versions I have, the woman is playful and saying that society demands she leaves, but she personally would like to stay.

The one exception is by Christina Saffron and Matthew Ashford, in which the song is song in a gender reversal. :-)

[mika-vumner.livejournal.com]

I have to say I have heard it more the flirty side than the 'date rape' outlook of this song. :) She's enjoying her time there, even if she should go. Le sigh. And then she lets him 'convince' her to stay. :)