Christmas In Jail

Here's the second part of our unit on prison Christmas songs. I've put a lot of these songs into my annual Christmas mix CDs -- see here and here. (And, of course, John Prine would've made it onto the Country mix if I hadn't had far too much to fit onto one CD.)

Most of these songs deal predominantly with the idea of spending the magical day behind bars, but one or two just mention it as a springboard for other lonely sad Christmas ideas. Almost all the songs are first-person prison narratives, with the exception of two songs about the fat man getting locked up (including a live version of a song from last year's elf mix). Oh, and then there's the exquisite instrumental "Jailhouse Angels" which gives "Angels We Have Heard On High" and "Jailhouse Rock" the Ventures-style Christmas medley treatment. Tonewise, the songs in this collection are all over the map, from the straight-up comedy of the opener to Kansas City Kitty's marvelously depressing blues song about having a lover locked up during the special season.

Have you noticed that it's already the 22nd and I haven't even mentioned this year's Christmas CD compilations? Well, I'm not sure they're going to be done this year -- like I mentioned, I've got a wedding to plan and I still haven't finished putting away all the decorations from September's pirate party. If they're done, I'll put 'em up. If not, I'll still try to post SOMETHING between now and the 25th.

As always, I recommend the zipfile -- that way, your files will already be numbered in the preferred order in your neat little desktop folder, and your MP3 player can play them that way if you choose. (On the other hand, if you have all the previous comps, then there are five songs you'd be double-dipping on. Your call, really.)

Zipfile

01 - Ron Holden - Who Says There Ain't No Santa Claus 1 2
02 - The Youngsters - Christmas In Jail 1 2
03 - Danny Barnes - I'm All Alone On Christmas 1 2
04 - All New Genetically Altered Jug Band - Christmas In Jail 1 2
05 - Adam Kempa - Jailhouse Angels 1 2
06 - Dash Kizer - Christmas In Jail 1 2
07 - Dean - Jail For Christmas 1 2
08 - Drive-By Truckers - Mrs. Claus' Kimono 1 2
09 - Sherwin Linton - Santa Got A DWI 1 2
10 - Kansas City Kitty - Christmas Morning Blues 1 2
11 - Leroy Carr - Christmas In Jail, Ain't That A Pain 1 2
12 - Paul Kelly - How To Make Gravy 1 2
13 - Seasick Steve and The Level Devils - Xmas Prison Blues 1 2