Let's be real, Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé's hit Christmas songs can get a little old, a little tired, and definitely redundant. Frankly, a lot of Christmas songs can be tarnished by time and become an obligation of the holiday season. It's not a bad thing and they're not bad songs, they've just been around for a while and overshadow a lot of other great Christmas music. Particularly, country Christmas songs.
Country Christmas music is not necessarily a Nashville industry staple. Well, except if you're Dan + Shay, but that might not be classified as country Christmas music. That being so, amidst the snowmen, candy canes, cookies, and milk, there reside a few country Christmas songs that go off the beaten path when it comes to Christmas music. Here are three of them to help start your search.
Dolly Parton does everything, so of course she has a country song. Parton released "Hard Handy Christmas" in 1982 and as of now, it is one of the most popular country Christmas songs of all time. Unlike most Christmas music, Parton's song does not tell a story of holiday cheer and joy. Rather, Parton depicts an individual who is hard-up, broken, and for Christmas, will only be able to celebrate the holiday with "Hard Candy."
The song is truly refreshing and shows that Christmas isn't a good time for everyone. For a good many years, never has a Christmas song that has subverted the typical holiday feeling been as popular as this one. Hats off to Dolly for going against the status quo and peeling back the curtain on the holiday season.
Released in 1995, Toby Keith's Christmas single "Santa I'm Right Here" takes on a very similar approach to Dolly Parton's song. Instead of talking about the joy and prosperity surrounding the Christmas season, Keith pivots the listener's attention and urges them to focus on a family whose Christmas won't be incredibly cheerful and plentiful.
Frankly, this might be one of Keith's most socially introspective and sentimentally sympathetic songs. Between the chorus and the overarching notions, the song is a heartbreaking tale that spins the typical Christmas narrative with a new thread.
Just by reading the title you know exactly what type of Christmas song you're getting from Jon Pardi. An homage to the hard work Santa Claus puts in, in Pardi's 2023 Christmas single he vows to give Kris Kringle a beer instead of cookies for all of his effort. Funny, cheeky, and generally, just something not so familiar in the world of Christmas music.
Unlike Parton and Keith, Pardi is fully soaking in the country Christmas fun with "Beer For Santa." Could it be construed as cheesy and cringy, absolutely. However, at least it's different than the far too familiar songs we hear on the radio year after year.