7. "1913 Massacre,"Michael Fracasso (just because I've never heard Woody Guthrie's version)
Copper miners who make less than a dollar a day celebrate Christmas in an upstairs dance hall. But boss-thugs are milling around outside -- one of him sticks his head in the door and yells "Fire!" then blocks the downstairs door. Seventy-three kids smother to death, crushed in the panic to get out.
6. "I Pray on Christmas," The Blind Boys of Alabama
A plaintive yet rolling gospel plea that isn't afraid to acknowledge that most of the promises we've heard at this time of the year -- for a couple thousand years now -- have yet to come true:
I pray on Christmas
... that he'll take me by the hand
... that the sick will soon be strong
... that the Lord will hear my song
... that all our problems gonna be worked out
... that God will show us what love's about
Previous Top 10:
10. "Christmas Is for Mugs," Graham Parker
9. "Daddy's Drinkin' Up our Christmas," Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
8. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," John & Yoko
-- C.J. Janovy
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