A Fairytale of New York is a novel by J. P. Donleavy, published in 1973, originally a short story based on Donleavy's successful stage play, Fairy Tales of New York. It concerns Irish-American Cornelius Christian's return to New York after studying in Ireland. Jump to: navigation, search J.P. Donleavy J. P. Donleavy is an Irish American author, born April 23, 1926 in New York to Irish immigrants. ...

Fairytale of New York is an Irish folk style ballad by UK-based punk/folk group The Pogues, also featuring Kirsty MacColl. Jump to: navigation, search Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. ... Punk Rock is an anti-establishment music movement that began about 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified by The Ramones,the Misfits, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... The Pogues were a popular Irish folk rock band of the 1980s and 90s. ... Kirsty MacColl on cd cover , 1998 Kirsty MacColl (October 10, 1959 – December 18, 2000), was a British pop singer-songwriter. ...

It features two Irish immigrants, lovers or ex-lovers, reminiscing and bickering in the drunk tank over Christmas in New York. MacColl's melodious singing contrasts with the harsh sound of Shane MacGowan's voice and the lyrics which are sometimes bittersweet, sometimes plain bitter. Jump to: navigation, search Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ... Jump to: navigation, search Christmas (literally, the Mass of Christ) is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually observed on December 25, which celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² or 54,556 square miles (27th)  - Land... Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born December 25, 1957) is an Irish musician. ...

Sample from lyrics:
"You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot!
Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it's our last".

The track was released as a single in 1987 and reached #1 in the Irish charts and #2 in the British charts over Christmas (the time of peak sales). Jump to: navigation, search 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The song has become a festive classic in Britain over the years, perhaps fuelled by the untimely death of Kirsty MacColl in December 2000. It was voted the best Christmas song of all time in 2004 in a poll by the VH1 UK TV music channel [1]. Jump to: navigation, search VH1 (which originally stood for Video Hits 1) is an American cable television channel that was created in 1985 by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment (then a division of Warner Communications). ...

It has since been covered by Ronan Keating and Maire Brennan, who changed the above lyric to "You scumbag, you maggot, you're cheap and you're haggard". In addition, it has been covered by Dustin the Turkey and Dervla Kirwan, as well as the bands City on Film, Pilate, No Use for a Name, and the Irish Tenors (who leave out some of the racier verses). Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish pop singer. ... Jump to: navigation, search Máire Ní Bhraonáin, better known as Máire Brennan (born August 4, 1952, Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland), is a Celtic folk singer, best known for her work with the band Clannad. ... Jump to: navigation, search Dustin Dustin the Turkey, more commonly simply Dustin, is a popular Irish television puppet, star of RTÉs The Den since the 1980s. ... Jump to: navigation, search Dervla Kirwan (born 24 October 1971) is an Irish actress famous for roles in television shows such as Ballykissangel and Goodnight Sweetheart Kirwan was born in Churchtown, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. ... No Use for a Name (Abbreviated NUFAN) is a Punk rock band from San Jose, CA, USA, formed in 1987 by Tony Sly and Rory Koff. ...

Matt Dillion appeared as the policeman in the promo video.

See also

• List of songs about New York City