Dys-fun-ctional Christmas

Not always is Christmas happy and merry.



Conflicts with the law, broken relationships, loneliness or simply dysfunctional families can put a burden on these holy Holidays.

Good part about it is, that they also inspire songwriters to tell about it. It's basically a reality show wrapped in the soothing sounds of Christmas music. So in this third part of a "Honky Tonk Christmas" let's put the fun back into dysfunctional (my Saloon ornament is hanging) and listen to some tunes, that aren't your standards accompanying "Silent Night," "Oh Tannenbaum" or more secular ditties like "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty The Snowman," "White Christmas," "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow." "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" or even "Feliz Navidad."



First in my list of a half dozen not so PC-friendly, dysfunctional songs is an over 25-year old classic done by Irish punkers The Pogues together with Kirsty MacColl (who passed away in 2000) called "Fairytale Of New York." Even though the song only reached #2 in the British Charts during it's initial release in 1987, it's this season (2013) most downloaded Christmas song in the UK.  Though the protagonist of the song is in the drunk tank on Christmas Eve to sober up, he sees quite a rosy future with his loved one.









And what you may have realized is that my definition of Honky Tonk music is quite wide and yes it includes Tom Waits. According to Wikipedia - even though the quote can't be traced anymore - he was quoted about "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minnepolis" as follows:

"I was in Minneapolis - it was 200 degrees below zero - I know - you think I'm bullshitting, no, I swear to God, I was wearing just a bra and a slip and a kind of dead squirrel around my neck - he was colder than I was. The police cars would go by and they'd wave... Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas - anyway - I got caught in the middle of a pimp war between 2 kids in Chinchilla coats, they couldn't have been more than 13 years old - they're throwing knives and forks and spoons out into the street - it was deep - so I grabbed a ladle - and Dinah Washington was singing "Our Day Will Come" and I knew that was it."

I can't say it much better, besides mentioning, that we are all looking for Valentine's day coming up.












I knew that John Prine had a song called "Christmas In Prison" of his 1994 Holiday album "A John Prine Christmas" but after re-listening to the whole album, I decided to use a the only (at least that I know of) song that cynically compares a broken up relationship with a decaying Christmas tree and how bittersweet it is to wish the former lover
"All The Best." Definitely a Christmas song, no department store would use as elevator music.



Alcohol also can be (is) a specific Christmas problem and leads to a crossroad of possibilities:

- a) drinking out of joy and celebrating (for some reason the most kids in the US are born roughly nine months after the Holidays - http://www.labnol.org/internet/most-popular-birthday-months/21283/ - longer, darker nights may be playing a role too)

- b) others may indulge due to dysfunctional relationships, insane family ties and trying to cope with that in a buzzed or even drunk state of mind

- c) and finally all the people who are alone and don't have anybody to celebrate the festivities with



In 1973, John Denver released "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas," a song written by husband and then-wife team, Bill Danoff and Mary "Taffy" Nivert. The couple was quite successful and had other hits with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (Denver), "Boulder To Birmingham" (Emmylou Harris) and their self-recorded, as the Starland Vocal Band, #1 hit "Afternoon Delight."

Twenty years later, Alan Jackson spiffed that little ditty about wishful soberness a bit up, put a shuffle beat to it, uped the giddy and the steel guitar replacing the dobro made it more jukebox friendly.



Alan Jackson - Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk On Christmas




John Rich, Jimmy Fallon - Drunk On Christmas





Boxcar Willie - Hee Haw Honey




How can I pass up lyrics like "I need some Christmas spirit, and by spirit I mean booze; I'm getting drunk, drunk, drunk on Christmas." This song was written by Late Night TV host Jimmy Fallon and a writer of the show, Gerard Bradford and premiered three years ago, with special guest John Rich (Big & Rich) sitting in with Fallon and back-up band, The Roots.

"Hee Haw" Host Roy Clark With Some Of The Honeys

Lecil Travis Martin aka Boxcar Willie, even though only remotely popular in the United States was a superstar overseas and is believed to have sold more than 100 million albums. His carnal wish was infused by the beautiful Southern ladies in the TV show "Hee Haw" and Hugh Hefner's playboy bunnies - and yes that simply is all he wanted under his Christmas tree.



One of my all-time favorite

dysfunctional Christmas songs is "Merry Christmas From The  Family" penned by Texan Robert Earl Keen. With a sharp wit, he describes the Christmas needs and family relationships as it would be part of a reality show. The parents are getting drunk, the sister shows up with a new Mexican boyfriend, who woos everybody with "Feliz Navidad," brother Ken who arrives with wife #3 brings his five kids out of two earlier relationships. And it's Turkey, football and more booze - trips to the convenient store to restock with cigarettes, diapers, tampons and whatever you need in the 24/7 world that America is.



And with this - I can only wish everybody of you - Merry Christmas Y'All



.

This blog was orginally published here.

When I Get To Heaven - Remembering John Prine

It was mid-October 1988. Nashville was a dump. Boarded-up, lower broadway had more sex-shops and massage parlors than live music venues.

It was my first time in Music City USA and after attending the CMA Awards as a journalist, all I wanted, besides making contacts with record label promo-heads, was to see some decent live music. Both tasks were quite fruitless. What I had envisioned as a "Sing Me Back Home"-journey, was rather tone-deaf. Even so in the middle of "Music Row," I stayed mostly in my room at the old Shoney's Inn on Demonbreun, watching stupid game shows on TV and trying to order mail-order greatest hits compilations hawked off during the commercials. But my - at that time Swiss zip code - just wouldn't work either. The only highlight was a visit down the street by Step One Records and its founder Ray Pennington. He, the writer of "I'm A Ramblin' Man" didn't only load me up with the newest releases (Ray Price, Buddy Emmons, Curtis Potter, etc.) from the label, but also suggested to go and visit the by now legendary Bluebird Cafe.

A short cab ride passing all the music-publishing offices on 17th street and then 21st street took me to the half-empty place. Some people were already playing and I took a seat at the small bar towards the back. There was a guy already sitting there and we started some small talk which quickly evolved into a "change-the-world" conversation, including politics, Nashville, Europe, and general wisdom, mostly ignoring the pickers in the circle.

Then we were suddenly interrupted, one of the pickers in the circle, rose his voice and announced special guest, John Prine. The buddy I talked to for the last or so hour, turned to me, told me he that he will be right, so we can finish our conversation and stepped up on stage and started playing. After a short set of about six songs, he came back to the bar, grabbed the same chair and sat down. I felt bad and apologized for not recognizing him earlier, his last album "GERMAN AFTERNOONS" didn't really have a portrait-cover and he brushed it away: "Instead of having a meaningful conversation, you probably would have asked me stuff about me, my career and songs or songwriting, like this I had a really pleasurable night."

Sure our conversation drifted for a short while to his career, he asked me for a card, so I could promote his new album "JOHN PRINE LIVE" on the radio, but we soon found ourselves talking about the world. We were the last ones, besides the working crew to leave the Bluebird and this evening by happenstance became one of my favorite memories. Needless to say that when I arrived back in Switzerland after staying a week in Texas, I had a package from "Oh Boy" records in my mailbox, even with a zip code that worked.
I probably could have written a more in-depth retrospective of his music, his career, and his genial writing, but other people have already done that way better than me - one of the best obituaries is by Holly Gleason.

So, John, tonight have a cocktail, start your band and please play one for my friend Mike, who preceded you, just a week ago. As a Vietnam vet, he was a huge fan of yours and we often listened to your songs either at the bar or while we were doing chores around the house.

John Prine & Sturgill Simpson - Live tonight!

An "Up Close & Personal" exclusive program session by John Prine and Sturgill Simpson can be watched by livestream tonight (June, 21st, 9.30pm CST) on Grammy Pro's facebook page, according to a press release from the Grammy organisation and Prine.



"The artists will dive deep into their creative process, especially as it relates to songwriting, during an intimate conversation moderated by singer/songwriter and music journalist Paul Zollo."







The session will be followed by a special performance by John Prine and is part of "Grammy Pro Songwriter Week" which is happening this week (June 20 - June 24) at the Grammy museum in Los Angeles. The show at the museum is sold out but is available through the livestream app which is connected to the Grammy Pro page.



Prine, who won two Grammys - one in 1991 for "The Missing Years" as "Best Contemporary Folk Album" and in the same category 14 years later for "Fair & Square" which besides mostly originals also had Prine's version of Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons" on it. Simpson, who is riding high on his current "A Sailor's Guide To Earth" was Grammy nominated for his previous, 2014 released "Metamodern Sounds In Country Music" as best Americana album.



Watch both artists below: John Prine together with Jim James from the band My Morning Jacket with "All The Best" on David Letterman's Late Show and Sturgill Simpson with a live version of "Turtles All The Way Down" recorded at the famous Grand Ole Opry.











Sources: Grammy Pro, John Prine, YouTube, Grand Ole Opry