Hozier brought a heartfelt performance to Saturday Night Live’s Christmas edition on Saturday night, where the Irish singer-songwriter paid tribute to the classic holiday song “Fairytale of New York.”
For his second song, Hozier performed the iconic track by the Pogues, which has become a holiday staple since its release in 1987. Fans on social media were quick to praise his emotional rendition, calling it a fitting tribute to the late Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, who passed away in 2023, as well as Kristy MacColl, who originally dueted with MacGowan.
One fan on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “Hozier performing ‘Fairytale of New York’ has to be the most Irish thing ever, and I’m here for it.” Another user, Sinead O’Brien, commented, “Gorgeous version of ‘Fairytale of New York’ by Hozier & backup singers that did Shane MacGowan & Kirsty MacColl proud.” O’Brien also highlighted the changes to some of the song’s original lyrics, calling for the word “bowdlerize” (meaning to remove offensive material from a text) to be the “Word of the Day.”
The original lyrics of the song include a line considered offensive by modern standards: “You scumbag, you maggot, You cheap lousy faggot.” Hozier and his backup singers changed it to: “You scumbag, you maggot, you’re cheap and you’re haggard,” with one of the singers even adding a playful wink. This altered line has been part of live performances since as early as 1992, when MacColl herself made the change. Additionally, the line “You’re an old slut on junk” was also omitted in the performance.
MacGowan, who reportedly wrote the song after being challenged by Elvis Costello to come up with a Christmas tune, once described “Fairytale of New York” as a tale about “old Irish-American Broadway stars sitting around at Christmas discussing their lives.”
Earlier in the show, Hozier performed “Too Sweet” from his upcoming 2024 EP Unheard.
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