""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 The howled out for more""
"And "Fairytale of New York" has become a kind of holiday standard. It gives voice, raspy then sweet, to those may feel anxious, lost, lonely, or just left out of all the merry songs about good tidings, herald angels singing, and ho-ho-ho's. Yet even as the couple snap and snarl, they realize how they have changed with each other, and go on together."
The song is set against black-and-white nostalgia and follows an Irish immigrant sleeping off a bender in a New York jail, dreaming of a woman who shared his American ambitions. Lyrics juxtapose glamorous visions of America with harsh winds that penetrate and erode hopes. The lovers alternately praise and insult each other, revealing how addiction, disappointment, and resilience coexist. Performers have sometimes softened pungent insults so the song reaches wider audiences. The duet's raspy and sweet vocals give voice to the anxious, lonely, and excluded while affirming that shared struggles can bind people closer.
Read at www.npr.org
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