Day After Day #335: Father Christmas

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Father Christmas (1977)

With Christmas right around the corner, I thought I'd write about some of my favorite Christmas songs leading up to the big day. Without a doubt, one of my all-time faves is "Father Christmas," the cynical and ass-kicking rocker from the Kinks.

One of the best things about the song is it doesn't take a treacly or solemn look at the holiday, but rather looks at the commercialization of Christmas from a working class point of view. Frontman Ray Davies sings from the perspective of a department store Santa who gets mugged by a group of kids. The single was released in November 1977; it was later included on the hits collection Come Dancing with the Kinks and added as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the 1978 album Misfits.

"When I was small I believed in Santa Claus/Though I knew it was my dad/And I would hang up my stocking at Christmas/Open my presents and I'd be glad/But the last time I played Father Christmas/I stood outside a department store/A gang of kids came over and mugged me/And knocked my reindeer to the floor/They said/Father Christmas, give us some money/Don't mess around with those silly toys/We'll beat you up if you don't hand it over/We want your bread so don't make us annoyed/Give all the toys to the little rich boys."

The song starts with Christmas bells, but then Dave Davies kicks in with a vicious guitar riff, making "Father Christmas" one of the first really rocking Christmas songs.

"Don't give my brother a Steve Austin outfit/Don't give my sister a cuddly toy/We don't want a jigsaw or monopoly money/We only want the real McCoy/Father Christmas, give us some money/We'll beat you up if you make us annoyed/Father Christmas, give us some money/Don't mess around with those silly toys/But give my daddy a job 'cause he needs one/He's got lots of mouths to feed/But if you've got one I'll have a machine gun/So I can scare all the kids on the street."

The song has since become a Christmas staple and has been covered by tons of bands, including Green Day, Bad Religion, Warrant, Bowling for Soup, Gigolo Aunts, Cheap Trick and the Riverboat Gamblers. 

"Have yourself a merry merry Christmas/Have yourself a good time/But remember the kids who got nothin'/While you're drinkin' down your wine."