As many of you know, for the last few years I’ve been adding festive songs, mostly original, to an ongoing compilation called ‘The Minor Crime At Christmastime‘.
This years addition is a cover of a creepy song from the 1920s by Reverend Edward W. Clayborn called ‘The Wrong Way To Celebrate Christmas’.
I first heard this song on the amazing compilation ‘Where Will You Be This Christmas‘ put out in 2004 by the wonderful Dust To Digital imprint.
Though the ‘Where Will You Be…’ comp is loaded with rare, vintage, old-timey greats, the dark lyrics and drone-y, bluesy melody of this song in particular became an obsession of mine over the years.
The lyrics preach the evils of vices and the commercialization of Christmas…in the 1920s!
I would love to know what Reverend Clayborn would think of Christmas here in 2015, almost 100 years later.
Here is my cover which you can download for free with the rest of the compilation over at Bandcamp:
You can hear the original here, and be sure to watch the incredibly creepy posters that make up the video. They are an accidental mash-up of Halloween and Christmas…almost Nightmare before Christmas!
Lyrics:
“On the twenty-fifth of December, 1928 it’s a national issue of heaven to the world that it’s Jesus’s birthday.
Some people use the wrong way to celebrate Christmas day.
Some people who work every day and draws good money every pay and here is what the same people said I wanna spend my money and have my way.
Some people use the wrong way to celebrate Christmas day.
While the church is praying on Christmas Day other people are roaming the streets and drinking their soul away.
Some people use the wrong way to celebrate Christmas day. ”