Classic Christmas Songs That Are Darker Than You Realized

Erin McCann
Updated February 5, 2024 75.9K views
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4.7K votes
1.1K voters
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Vote up the most shockingly dark tunes.

The never-ending broadcasting of carols during November and December may be a depressing idea, but Christmas music with dark meanings can make the holidays downright bleak. Ugly sweaters and too many cookies are horrible enough, and it's a proven fact that Christmas music can be bad for you. And despite the twinkly lights and shiny things of the holiday season, there are plenty of classic Christmas songs that are darker than you thought – way darker. 

Grandmothers getting flattened by flying deer and Mommy having an affair with Old Saint Nick can make for some dark Christmas songs, but listeners generally know they were written in good humor. Some of your favorite Christmas songs, on the other hand, may actually be about a massacre of children, inspired by the death of a loved one, or originally suppressed due to bigotry. You've probably been hearing these songs ever since your very first holiday, but after learning the truth about secretly creepy Christmas music, you might not feel as jolly. Vote up the evil Christmas carols and depressing Christmas songs whose true meanings surprise you the most.

  • 1
    388 VOTES

    "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" Was Written Immediately After A Family Member's Funeral

    "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" Was Written Immediately After A Family Member's Funeral
    Video: YouTube

    In 1934, songwriter Haven Gillespie was asked by his publisher to write a Christmas song for children. Having gone to the meeting directly from his brother Irwin's funeral, Gillespie had no interest in the project. Somehow he was talked into it and began writing the song on his train ride home. Thinking of all the pleasant memories he created with his brother during the holidays, Gillespie wrote "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town."

    The song was later recorded by Eddie Cantor and became a huge hit, inspiring many covers and a classic stop-motion animated film. Gillespie, however, never liked hearing the song, since it reminded him of his brother.

    388 votes
  • "White Christmas" Was Written Partly In Memory Of The Songwriter's Late Son
    Video: YouTube

    "White Christmas" holds the surprising record of being the world's best-selling single, first released by Bing Crosby only a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The song was written by Irving Berlin for a Broadway musical that was never made, but managed to find its way into the Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby movie Holiday Inn (and its spiritual successor, White Christmas).

    Since Berlin was Jewish, he didn't really celebrate the holiday. But he had developed a yearly tradition of visiting his son's grave; the child had passed away on Christmas Day when he was three weeks old. The melancholy Berlin associated with Christmas certainly came through in the song, and it became a hit after resonating with sentimental listeners during World War II.

    Continuing the dark history of the song, the playing of "White Christmas" over the radio also served as code for American soldiers to evacuate Saigon during the Vietnam War.

    561 votes
  • 3
    491 VOTES

    "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Refers To The Cuban Missile Crisis

    "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Refers To The Cuban Missile Crisis
    Video: YouTube

    "Do You Hear What I Hear?" has been covered by many artists, including Carrie Underwood and Whitney Houston. The lyrics describe a lamb pointing out a star to a shepherd boy, who then tells the king to bring silver and gold to a special child. It sounds like a sweet, not overly religious tune, and thank to the repeating verses, it's a classic holiday selection for choirs.

    What many people don't know, however, is that the star with the "tail as big as a kite" actually refers to a missile. The song was written in 1962 by Gloria Shayne Baker and Noel Regney, both terrified of being blown up as the Cuban Missile Crisis went down. The lines at the end urge listeners to "pray for peace people everywhere" and were the songwriters' response to the tense situation.

    491 votes
  • 4
    266 VOTES

    "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" Was Changed Multiple Times Against Songwriters' Wishes

    "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" Was Changed Multiple Times Against Songwriters' Wishes
    Video: YouTube

    "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" is a classic carol, but it's also the twisted hybrid of several men putting their own touches on it without asking for approval from the guy before. The original lyrics were created as a poem in 1739 by Charles Wesley, but since they were written in old-timey English and contained odd phrases like "welkin rings," an evangelist named George Whitefield decided to change the lyrics without permission. Wesley was upset, but the poem became more popular after Whitefield's adjustment, so the new lines stuck.

    In 1855, after both men had passed on, an organist named William Cummings set the Wesley/Whitefield poem to music composed by Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn had always insisted that his work never be used for religious purposes, but since he was dead too, he didn't really get a say. The classic song was born, and all three men turned over in their graves.

    266 votes
  • "O Holy Night" Was Banned By The French Catholic Church Because The Writer Was Jewish
    Video: YouTube

    Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was commissioned to write a poem for Christmas mass in 1847, and wrote the lyrics to "O Holy Night" based on the nativity Bible stories. Cappeau thought the impact of his words would be more powerful set to music, and asked Adolphe Charles Adams to create the score.

    The French Catholic church liked the song – until Cappeau decided to become a socialist and they found out Adams was Jewish. The church banned and denounced the song since a man of a different religion had written it. But the French people still sang it, and soon it became popular overseas, too.

    318 votes
  • "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" Was Originally Incredibly Depressing
    Video: YouTube

    "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" has been covered by everyone from Amy Grant to Barry Manilow, but it was originally written for the 1944 movie Meet Me in Saint Louis and sung by Judy Garland. Hugh Martin was given the task of creating a song that could show the family's sadness over celebrating the last Christmas in a home they were soon moving from. With lyrics like "Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last," Martin did such a good job of writing a melancholy tune that Garland complained it was too depressing.

    The lyrics were changed, but one of the song's last lines as heard in the film, "From now on, we'll have to muddle through somehow" was later altered to "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." That was at the request of Frank Sinatra, who thought the song was still too dark. Despite the fact his more jolly version was the one that turned the song into a holiday classic, most people agree that it's the song's melancholy undertone that they really relate to.

    487 votes
  • 7
    349 VOTES

    "Coventry Carol" Is About Children Being Brutally Murdered By A Jealous King

    "Coventry Carol" Is About Children Being Brutally Murdered By A Jealous King
    Video: YouTube

    Technically, "Coventry Carol" isn't a Christmas song; it was written for the Feast of the Holy Innocents that is celebrated on December 28. Regardless, it's more associated with Christmas, even though it refers to the Feast of the Holy Innocents and what it marks: the massacre of innocent children.

    The story centers around the Biblical King Herod, who murdered of hundreds of children, hoping to kill the one who was supposed to become the Messiah. It's believed to have been taken from a play written sometime during the 16th century, but the actual origins are unknown. The haunting song is intended to sound like both a lullaby for the dead children and the cries of their mothers during the massacre.

    349 votes
  • 8
    225 VOTES

    "I Saw Three Ships" May Refer To Boats Transporting Human Remains

    "I Saw Three Ships" May Refer To Boats Transporting Human Remains
    Video: YouTube

    People have been debating the true meaning behind the lyrics to "I Saw Three Ships" since they were first published in 1666. Some believe the three ships are symbolic of the three Wise Men, and others think the number refers to the Holy Trinity.

    Also up for debate is whether the ships were carrying the remains of the Wise Men to their final resting place. Lyrics from one version, reading, "They said they'd got three crawns (skulls)," make a good case for this idea. Considering the cathedral these relics are now stored in took 632 years to build, maybe the ships had to sail around for a while.

    There are different versions of the song with different lyrics, so the debate may never be truly solved. Regardless, the song has become a Christmas classic whether or not it's about delivering skeletons.

    225 votes
  • 9
    242 VOTES

    "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" Has A Backstory About A Dying Wife

    "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" Has A Backstory About A Dying Wife
    Video: YouTube

    "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" was created in 1938 by Montgomery Ward ad writer Bob May, after the retail giant requested he work on a book they could use as a promotional gimmick. May completed the story after testing it out on his four-year-old daughter, and by 1946, Montgomery Ward had distributed more than 6 million copies. May received no royalties for his work but managed to obtain the copyright, becoming very rich in the process. His brother-in-law turned the book into a song ,which was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 and became the second best-selling Christmas song of all time.

    Allegedly, May claimed he wrote the story for his daughter to cheer her up because her mother was dying of cancer. That's not quite true – although May's wife was sick with cancer and did eventually pass away, the song was written purely for money.

    242 votes
  • 10
    246 VOTES

    "The Twelve Days of Christmas" May Have Secretly Taught Catholic Children About Religion

    "The Twelve Days of Christmas" May Have Secretly Taught Catholic Children About Religion
    Video: YouTube

    Beginning in the mid-1500s, Roman Catholics in England struggled to practice their religion. When Elizabeth I came to power, the open practice of Catholicism was basically banned for the next several hundred years, and the celebration of Christmas was completely canceled from 1649-1660.

    Some people believe "The Twelve Days of Christmas" came out of this time, and served as a way for Catholics to secretly practice and teach their children about their faith. Supposedly, each object in the song is a code for something else; two turtle doves fill in for the Old and New Testaments, and the 10 lords a-leaping take the place of the 10 commandments. Though there is no factual evidence for this idea, the song has remained a classic.

    246 votes
  • "I'll Be Home For Christmas" Was Written For World War II Soldiers Fighting Overseas
    Video: YouTube

    "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is one of the most sentimental holiday classics, beloved since many people can relate to the feeling of loneliness and separation during the holidays. But being away from home is taken to an entirely different level when one is physically unable to go home because they're currently fighting a war overseas.

    The song was written in 1943 by Walter Kent and James Gannon to comfort families and friends separated by World War II. Bing Crosby sang its first recording, and made it into a hit that's been covered by many artists since.

    312 votes