Ten Essential Rock Christmas Songs You Need On Your Holiday Playlist Immediately

Posted On December 17, 2020

Samantha Colleran, December 2020

Last week I talked about my favorite pop Christmas songs, and this week I’ll be covering my favorite rock Christmas songs! Some of these listed tracks are among my all time favorite Christmas songs, and I’m so excited to share them with you! Let me know your favorite song mentioned on this list in the comments, let’s rock the Christmas bells and jump into today’s post!

“Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass”, All Time Low

There’s no better way to kick off this list than with one of my all time favorite bands, and all time favorite rock Christmas songs from All Time Low! This is a bonus track off of their 2011 album Dirty Work about our narrator (Alex Gaskarth) getting his heart broken around the holidays. The use of winter and Christmas related imagery throughout the three minute and twenty second track is super creative, and the instrumentals are equal parts badass and hilarious, with the classic All Time Low sound that’s impossible to hate. A “summer romance/ Turned this year’s winter blues” leads Alex to tearing down decorations because they remind him of his ex-girlfriend’s smile, and hating the mistletoe because it reminds him of his first kiss with her. He channels the anger of having his heart “ripped apart/ Like wrapping paper trash” into a holiday hate song. There’s also a snippet at the end of Clark Griswold from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation talking to his coworkers as he says the infamous “Merry Christmas. Kiss my ass, kiss his ass, kiss your ass”. It’s incredible!

“I Won’t Be Home For Christmas”, blink-182

Young children and elderly people who don’t like vulgar music, cover your ears for this one. Blink is notorious for some of their crude numbers, and this Christmas song fits right into that category. It pokes fun at regular Christmas traditions like caroling, and Mark Hoppus (who has lead vocals on this song) decides he’s had enough of these traditions. He begins to chase the carolers with a bat and gets arrested. The song ends with Hoppus telling his girlfriend mentioned in the beginning of the song he won’t be home for Christmas and asks her to post bail. It’s simultaneously cringey and hilarious, but I love blink-182 so much and they needed to be on this playlist.

“Thank God It’s Christmas”, Queen

This song is actually the title of my big Christmas playlist, so leaving this Queen classic off of this list would be a crime. It’s a slow song with simple lyrics that acknowledge the fact that “it’s been a long hard year”, but Freddie reminds us that it’s Christmas, so we can take a moment to breathe. We’re united by the positivity, love, and cheer that is commonly associated with the holiday season, and it seems as though it’s the one day of the year everyone is a little kinder to one another. “Thank God it’s Christmas/ For one day”, Freddie sings in the chorus of this song, and he’s certainly right. 

“Please Come Home For Christmas”, Eagles 

A cover of Charles Brown’s “Please Come Home For Christmas”, the Eagles sing about the heartbreak of losing a significant other for the holidays. It’s a time where you’re supposed to be surrounded by loved ones, but our hero of the song Don Henley has been left on his lonesome and is begging his love to come home for Christmas. He hopes that the magic of the holidays will help bring his true love home so “There will be no more sorrow, no grief and pain/ And I’ll be happy, happy once again”. It has a bluesy feel, and the intro of this song is so easily recognizable. 

“Blue Christmas”, Elvis Presley

A classic which has a similar theme to the previous song. It’s a spin on the well known “White Christmas”, the color changed to “blue” to signify the fact that Elvis will be sad without his love interest by his side. He believes that she’ll be having “a Christmas of white”, enjoying her holiday season while Elvis is left to sulk in his sadness about losing her. When it starts to snow, memories of their times together will come back and intensify the sad feelings. The vocals are choppy since Elvis didn’t actually want to record the song, yet it remains one of the most well known and loved Christmas songs. 

“Step Into Christmas”, Elton John

Elton John is wonderfully extravagant, and he brings some much needed and appreciated holiday cheer with his original Christmas track “Step Into Christmas”. This is honestly one of the most fun Christmas songs I’ve ever heard. It has all the wonderful Elton energy combined with the joy of the holidays all wrapped up in a four minute song. “Hop aboard the turntable” and join Elton on an exciting Christmas journey as he thanks everyone in his life for making his year so special. “Eat, drink, and be merry” as you crank the volume up on this underappreciated Christmas tune that will certainly add some pizazz to your holiday festivities!

“Do They Know It’s Christmas”, Band Aid

Whether this is rock or pop could possibly be debated, but there’s no denying its cultural impact and the fact it’s a Christmas song featuring countless talents of the 80s including Bono, George Michael, Sting, Paul Young, and others. This is also my mom’s all time favorite Christmas song, so if I left it out of any of my playlists she would never forgive me. With this Christmas single, Band Aid raised millions of dollars to help the famine in Africa. It combines all of the perfect elements of 80s music; drum tracks, synth, an incredibly catchy chorus you’ll find yourself singing out loud as the song goes on. It highlights the importance of giving around the holidays, and reminds us to be a little kinder to everyone. “Do They Know It’s Christmas” is a staple for any holiday playlist, and if it isn’t on yours then you’re doing something wrong!

“Yule Shoot Your Eye Out”, Fall Out Boy

A playful pun on the famous A Christmas Story quote “You’ll shoot your eye out”, Fall Out Boy brings us all the sad and angry feelings associated with losing a loved one. Lyrics have a spin on “The Twelve Days Of Christmas” as Patrick Stump sings about the gifts he’ll be giving his ex, “One awkward silence/ And two hopes you’ll cry yourself to sleep”. He also tells his lover not to come home for the holidays, “[You’re] the last thing I want to see/ Underneath the tree”. It’s an acoustic guitar driven track that includes a lot of angry strumming to highlight just how angry Stump is about losing his ex. It’s one of my favorites, which is exactly why it’s included on this list!

“River”, Joni Mitchell

Joni is the soft rock/folk queen this playlist needed, and I can’t believe I only just added this song to my playlist. While everyone else is cutting down trees, putting up decorations, and singing songs about joy and peace, Joni is feeling a lot more blue. She sings about the feeling of missing an ex as the holidays get closer and how she wishes she “had a river [I] could skate away” from her troubles on. It tugs at your heartstrings and makes you feel a bit nostalgic, but it’s such a gorgeous sounding song you’ll forgive Joni for making you sad on Christmas.

“Christmas All Over Again”, Tom Petty

On this track, Tom sings about the traditions that come along with Christmas. Putting up decorations, singing Christmas songs, spending time with long distance relatives you only see on holidays, kids opening presents, and of course the tradition of hanging mistletoe and smooching a loved one! It has a classic Tom Petty sound coupled with holiday bells that give it the perfect holiday feel! It’s a lighthearted song that’ll surely make you smile as you take part in holiday activities! 

I hope at least some of these songs make it to your Christmas playlists and you get to rock a little this holiday season! You can find my full Christmas playlist linked below (click here if it doesn’t work!) as well as the ten songs on this list rounded up into a YouTube playlist. Let me know your favorite song from the songs I mentioned above, and if I missed one of your favorites feel free to comment below! Hang in there everyone, it’s almost Christmas!