Advertisement

Updated December 16th, 2019 at 14:37 IST

Shane MacGowan defends controversial lyrics of 'Fairytale of New York'

Irish-English vocalist Shane MacGowan recently addressed the criticism surrounding the controversial lyrics of his 1987 Christmas song Fairytale of New York.

Reported by: Ruchit Rastogi
Shane MacGowan
| Image:self
Advertisement

Irish-English vocalist Shane MacGowan recently addressed the criticism surrounding the controversial lyrics of his 1987 Christmas song Fairytale of New York. According to reports, after complaints about the lyrics, a few radio stations have been playing out the edited version. Responding to the criticism, the Pogues said that he had been told that the lyrics were insulting to queer people, adding that he did not understand how it insulted them. He further added that the band also did not think in that way.

MacGowan defends his song

MacGowan said that he did not have a problem if radio stations played an edited version of his song, adding that the much-criticised word " f****t" was used by the character in the song because it complimented the way she spoke. He further added that the character was created to not be a nice person in the song. The songwriter said that the character belonged to a particular generation at a certain time in history.

Read: Scarlett Johansson Hosts An Amusing 'Avengers' Themed Episode On NBC's Saturday Night Live

The vocalist went on to say her dialogues were not intended to offend anyone, calling her an authentic character of his song. He also said that not all characters of her song are nice or decent, stating that sometimes they have to be despicable or nasty in order to have the desired effect. MacGowan said that he did not want to fight with anyone over the lyrics and would completely understand if someone plans to censor it, adding that if people did not get the meaning he intended to portray then he was completely fine with people muting the word.

Read: 'Stars Aren't Allowed To Be Human': Nicki Minaj Talks About Drug Abuse In Music Industry

Alex Dyke calls Fairytale of New York nasty

BBC's Radio DJ Alex Dyke refused to play the hit song, hoping that he was not going to spoil anyone's Christmas but said that he will not be playing Fairytale of New York because he was not comfortable with it. Dyke said that Christmas songs should be reindeers, Santa, snow and toys instead of such controversial lyrics. He was of the opinion that the singer had ruined the romantic picture of New York City with such a song.

Read: Selena Gomez Reveals Name, Release Date Of New Album; Calls It Her "most Honest Music"

Read: Raftaar Has Introduced These Amazing New Artists Under His Music Brand, Kalamkaar! Details

(With inputs from agencies)

Advertisement

Published December 16th, 2019 at 14:01 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo