Three great Punk Rock songs for Christmas

Christmas is a great time for a seasonal playlist. If you want to surround yourself with a variety of classic songs, you have plenty to select from.

But what if you need a break from the usual Christmas tunes played repeatedly in shops, on the radio and everywhere else you go? 

Here are three punky Christmas songs you might want to add as something different to all the others. They may not have been huge hits. They may not all fit into the classic Christmas song category alongside the likes of Bing Crosby and Mariah Carey. But they will rock your Christmas playlist all the same.

Ramones – “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)”

One of the founding bands of punk rock hit Christmas for six in their usual style. Released as a B side to “ I Wanna Live” back in 1987 it wasn’t much of a chart hit. It was re-recorded for the band's 1989 album Brain Drain. 

It’s pretty typical Ramones, after a soft intro the guitars and pace break in. It’s along the style of Blitzkrieg Bop and other standards from the band, perhaps slightly slower than some. Maybe it’s the vocals or the lyrics but without a single sleigh bell or choral voice in there, it still sounds Christmassy enough to make the list.

Stiff Little Fingers – “White Christmas”

Stiff Little Fingers were formed in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1980. This song was partly meant as a joke tune for a “Silly Encores” B side with a live version of “White Christmas” appearing with “Running Bear”, also live, to the A side of  “At The Edge” in 1980. It was released in February 1980, somewhat oddly for that Christmas B side. 

This is the original Irving Berlin song, but not like you know it. There’s no sign of crooning Crosby on this eventually fast-paced thrash. A nice contrast to the original, it picks up pace rapidly after a slow verse start, listen out too for the shambolic ending. 

Green Day – “Xmas Time Of The Year”

It’s well after the original punk rock scene but Green Day certainly count as a punk band. This Christmas song from the band has been quite low-key in its release. It came out on Christmas Eve 2015, but was a YouTube-only release and launched by a seasonal Twitter message from the band. 

There wasn’t any build up or mention of the song coming out beforehand. It just appeared. It wasn’t available on streaming services until late in 2019 when it was added to the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. It’s a decent mix of guitar based seasonal message, full of peace, love and goodwill to all. Even a punk band can have a soft heart!

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