Another year, another round of Christmas songs are being debated on the Internet. This year a familiar foe has come up yet again in ‘Fairytale of New York.’ Arguably one of the best Christmas songs of all time, performed by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl it is continuously played in pubs, homes and shops around the Christmas period. The popular Celtic rock tune has been accused of having ‘homophobic’ lyrics and people have called for these lyrics to be banned.
The song which was released in 1997 by The Pogues and goes “You scumbag, you maggot/You cheap lousy faggot.” This debate has heated up annually with radio stations debating to use, or an online discussion wondering whether it’s an acceptable song to play at all. Some people claim that singing the lyric would be just as bad as using the N-Word. The endless discussion has taken place each December for the last few years and this year has been no exception:
Another year; more discourse about the Christmas song "Fairytale of New York" and its use of the word "F*ggot".
— Ethan Hanbury 🏳️🌈 | 3D Art (@Hanbury3D) December 1, 2021
Words cannot explain how uncomfortable that song made me growing up as a closeted gay man to be surrounded by straight people drunkenly screaming the lyrics. pic.twitter.com/26fhKZ5621
straight people starting the fairytale of new york discourse every year pic.twitter.com/3TiInfgv6k
— Dom (@thedomz0ne) December 1, 2021
Others believe that the word isn’t used in an offensive context. In terms of Irish slang the word was also used to describe a lazy person. For Shane MacGowan, The Pogue’s Frontman the lyrics fitted the way the characters speak in the song, which is an argument between two down-on-their-luck New Yorkers. Shane explained:
“She is not supposed to be a nice person or even a wholesome person.”

Even The Pogues would prefer that the discourse around the song stopped. In fact, the band made clear last year they don’t even care whether the original version of the song is played on the radio. Nonetheless, people believe the word should be censored across all platforms or banned altogether.
Like it or not, context doesn’t matter on daytime radio. The band had spoken out in November 2020 after BBC Radio 1 had announced it would be playing an alternative version of ‘Fairytale of New York’ to avoid offending younger listeners who would be appalled at hearing a homophobic slur blasting from the radio. Many people have expressed their rage at this kind of censorship:
I knew there was a reason why I listen to Radio 2. They are playing the original version of Fairytale of New York whereas Radio 1 are censoring it for fear of offending their poor little snowflake listeners.
— lyndsey feakes white (@lyndseyfeakes) November 19, 2020
Just heard Fairytale of New York on the radio with ‘those’ words changed. Not edited out. Changed. I’m incensed. Don’t want to sound like a dinosaur, but… something must be wrong when we’re censoring poetry for fear of offending. They’re fictional characters, for Santa’s sake! pic.twitter.com/4GhVl24qB2
— Gary Phelps (@Midlands_editor) December 24, 2018
Gotta be honest, I don’t really care about censoring ‘faggot’ in Fairytale of New York on the radio.
— Rose of Dawn (@Rose_Of_Dawn) November 19, 2020
I say this as someone who loves Christmas and hates censorship.
Artists have long had to choose how to approach the lyric when covering the song. KT Tunstall for example changed the word to ‘braggart’ in her version. Whilst Vampire Weekend’s Rostam, a homosexual, left the word in when he covered it last year.
It’s also worth noting that Kirsty MacColl had started singing an alternative version of the song before her tragic death in 2000- indicating that even she was at least partly uncomfortable with the inclusion of the homophobic slur.
Whether people choose to sing the word or not, those shoppers and bar-goers, and radio listeners should remember that the word, whether sung to a jaunty Christmas tune or otherwise still has great power. You can dedicate this December to arguing about ‘Fairytale of New York’ on Twitter if you want to-but you should probably be aware that not even The Pogues care about the endless discourse.
Everyone’s got a favourite Christmas tune. If you are interested in hearing about the seasonal success of another recording artist click here.