When listening to Christmas music, it’s hard to imagine anyone would have a problem with their sugary sentiments. While many have endured for decades still unscathed, others have been put on the dissection table. Whether it’s allusions to forced intimacy, sexual advances to a beloved holiday figure, racist origins, or any other negative connotation, the five Christmas songs below have sparked major controversy.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: 5 Christmas Songs That Were Never Written About Christmas]
1. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
Perhaps the most recent song to be put on the chopping block is “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” While it was once a universal holiday staple, some listeners have started to take offense to the allusions of coercion in the song. The traditionally female part in the song features some lines that require a second thought: Say, what’s in this drink…The answer is, “No”…I really can’t stay. Many have taken this song as an opportunity to educate young listeners on consent. Not everyone sees it that way though. Many continue to enjoy this song as a blithe, tongue-in-cheek classic.
2. “Jingle Bells“
“Jingle Bells” is certainly among the top 5 Christmas songs. It’s a featured track on almost every single Christmas album and a quick draw in a caroler’s repertoire. Nevertheless, it came under fire in 2017 after researchers found out it was originally performed by minstrels in blackface in the 1800s. Though there isn’t anything innately racist about the song’s lyrics, there are some that can’t look past its concerning origins.
3. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus“
I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus / Underneath the mistletoe last night, the lyrics to this Christmas classic read. By today’s standards, this song about a childhood misunderstanding seems incredibly tame. At the time of its release in 1952, the track was taken very literally, causing it to be shunned by religious groups and pearl-clutching parents, worried that the conflation between sex and Christmas would have adverse effects.
4. “White Christmas” (Elvis Presley’s version)
Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” is as pure as a song can get. That is until Elvis Presley got his hands on it. Immediately, those who were adverse to “Elvis the Pelvis” took issue with him performing this classic. Their thinking seemed to be, “Should a sex symbol that’s corrupting our youth sing something so innocent?” Even Berlin himself thought Presley’s version a perversion of the track. Presley got the last laugh though, given his version is one of (if not the) most definitive.
5. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas“
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is a bitter-sweet homage to absent loved ones during the holidays. Upon the song’s release in 1943, amid World War II, the BBC thought it might do more harm than good. The powers that be deemed the song would undermine the efforts of the soldiers, leaving them yearning for home in a way that would take their minds off the conflict in front of them. Despite the trepidation, the song became a hit and one of Bing Crosby’s most famous tracks.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
