MacColl's melodious singing contrasts with the harshness of MacGowan's voice, and the lyrics are sometimes bittersweet - sometimes plain bitter: 'Happy Christmas your arse/ I pray God it's our last'. The remainder of the song (which may be an internal monologue) takes the form of a call and response between two Irish immigrants, lovers or ex-lovers, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, reminiscing and bickering on Christmas Eve in New York City.

After an inebriated old man also incarcerated in the jail cell sings a passage from the Irish drinking ballad 'The Rare Old Mountain Dew', the drunken man (MacGowan) begins to dream about a failed relationship. The song takes the form of a drunken man's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank. It was also voted as the 27th greatest song never to reach UK#1 in another VH1 poll, and also voted as the 84th greatest song of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in their 'Sold on Song' top 100 poll. The song has become a festive classic in the UK and Ireland over the years, and was voted the best Christmas song of all time three years running in 2004, 20 in polls by music channel VH1 UK, despite not achieving Christmas Number One when it was released. 'Fairytale of New York' 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).

It is frequently voted the Number One Best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The author told The Daily Mail: 'Technically I could have taken legal action for piracy but as I know Shane MacGowan - I believe his father is a fan of my work - I decided not to bother.' The song features string arrangements by Fiachra Trench. According to the ' Fairytale Of New York' Songfacts, this song was inspired by JP Donleavy's 1961 novel of the same title. The song is an Irish folk style ballad, written by Jem Finer and Shane Macgowan, and featured on The Pogues' album If I Should Fall from Grace with God. ' Fairytale Of New York' is a Christmas song by Anglo-Irish folk-rock group The Pogues, and featuring the British singer Kirsty MacColl. It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me, won't see another one And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew I turned my face away And dreamed about you Got on a lucky one Came in eighteen to one I've got a feeling This year's for me and you So happy Christmas I love you baby I can see a better time When all our dreams come true They've got cars big as bars They've got rivers of gold But the wind goes right through you It's no place for the old When you first took my hand On a cold Christmas Eve You promised me Broadway was waiting for me You were handsome You were pretty Queen of New York City The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York - When the band finished playing They howled out for more Sinatra was swinging, All the drunks they were singing We kissed on a corner Then danced through the night The boys of the NYPD choir Were singing 'Galway Bay' And the bells were ringing out For Christmas day You're a bum You're a punk You're an old slut on junk Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed You scumbag, you maggot You cheap lousy faggot Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it's our last I could have been someone Well so could anyone You took my dreams from me When I first found you I kept them with me babe I put them with my own Can't make it all alone I've built my dreams around you

Fairytale of new york lyrics