Hozier and Jessie Buckley have unveiled a reimagined rendition of Fairytale Of New York, featuring alterations to the track's lyrics. The newly recorded version appears on the new album 20th Century Paddy – The Songs Of Shane MacGowan, which pays tribute to the talents of The Pogues frontman.
Lyrical Changes and Original Release
The original lyric "you cheap lousy fa***t" has been amended to "you cheap lousy blaggard", while the line "you're an old sl*t on junk" has been replaced with "you're an old hag on junk". Fairytale Of New York was first recorded by Irish musician MacGowan alongside Kirsty MacColl and released back in 1987.
The track remains enormously popular across the UK and Ireland, and regularly climbs back into the UK top 20 charts during the festive period. BBC Radio 2 has broadcast an edited version of the song omitting the contentious lyrics since 2022.
MacGowan's Past Defense of Lyrics
MacGowan previously addressed the inclusion of the word "fa***t" in a statement to Virgin Media Television's The Tonight Show, saying: "The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character."
"She is not supposed to be a nice person, or even a wholesome person. She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history and she is down on her luck and desperate." Her dialogue is as accurate as I could make it but she is not intended to offend."
He added: "She is just supposed to be an authentic character and not all characters in songs and stories are angels or even decent and respectable, sometimes characters in songs and stories have to be evil or nasty to tell the story effectively."
"If people don't understand that I was trying to accurately portray the character as authentically as possible, then I am absolutely fine with them bleeping the word, but I don't want to get into an argument."
Artists Reflect on Recording
Reflecting on recording the track, Hozier said: "I'll admit to feeling somewhat daunted by the prospect."
"It is such a beloved song in Ireland, it can seem as though some part of it belongs to the island as a whole."
"Shane MacGowan is one of those rare artists that was even in his lifetime held in something of a mythologised light." His work is so intimately woven into the tapestry of our country's musical canon and so definitive of a mode of musical being that it is truly foundational for so much that has followed."
"It was an honour to be asked to contribute to the record, and indeed to be trusted with this song."
Buckley added: "To step into the very studio that Shane, Kirsty and the Pogues recorded Fairytale Of New York and to sing this eternal song of all our hearts, full of hope and humanity was pure joy."
"When Hozier, one of Ireland's greatest artists and souls asked me to be part of it, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world." What a pleasure. What a song. What a gift to get to sing this story."
Fairytale Of New York by Hozier and Jessie Buckley is available to stream across all major digital platforms now.
