The Most Depressing Christmas Song Ever

I defy anyone to find a more sad and depressing holiday tune than “The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot.” It’s perhaps the biggest downer of a Christmas song ever written. It was made popular by a singer called Vera Lynne, who was one of England’s most beloved post-WWII songstresses. Then it became the flip side of the Nat King Cole single “The Christmas Song,” and that’s where I encountered it.

I had the 45 of the Nat King Cole song, and I remember playing it on my plastic record player over and over. Of course, I always played B-sides, too…and when I discovered “The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot,” I became somehow morbidly fixated on it. I’d play it repeatedly and burst into tears every single time. It was like I wanted to feel lousy for this poor kid. I mean, listen to just a snippet of the lyrics:

“He’s the little boy that Santa Claus forgot
And goodness knows, he didn’t want a lot
He wrote a note to Santa for some soldiers and a drum
And it broke his little heart when he found that Santa hadn’t come
In the streets he envies all those lucky boys
Then wanders home to last year’s broken toys”

..and here’s the real kicker….

“I’m so sorry for that laddie
He hasn’t got a Daddy!
He’s the little boy that Santa Claus forgot.”

Now I personally think that degree of sentimentality should be illegal. Of course, it was a hit in the UK and Nat King Cole obviously introduced it to a very large US audience. You never hear “The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot” these days. God, I wonder why. Maybe it’s to prevent the suicide rate that’s already high around the holidays from going through the roof!

Anyhow, I remember very vividly one December afternoon, listening to this song and bawling like a freak, and my mom coming in and ripping the record off the turntable, saying “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOURSELF?” She had a point. I was, after all, 6 or 7 years old. I was supposed to be full of glee, not forcing myself to some overly dramatic display of maudlin sentimentality.

I wonder what that little incident said about me? I’m sure you have your thoughts.