Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

I listened to a lot of holiday music over Christmas weekend.  Binging on Spotify playlists, I found myself surprisingly moved by the Bing Crosby-style pre-RnR era songs, and pleasantly surprised by some of the modern songs by artists like Kelly Clarkson and Sia.  I still don't get the big deal about Mariah Carey's ubiquitous song, but after hitting the Christmas #1 spot on the Billboard chart for three straight years, you can't deny its place as one of the biggest and most enduring songs of its type in music history.  I can't help but notice that religious themed tracks are being phased out (I never hear the "Mary and the baby"-style caroling that I grew up with) and it's all about vaguely holiday themed love and togetherness.  Add some sleigh bells to the mix to make it crystal clear that you've recorded a holiday song and hope for regular airplay each December. 

I am not a push-button cancel culture type of person, but "Do They Know Its Christmas?" gets more disturbing to me each year.  The controversy surrounding this track (and the remakes) are not new.  The genesis of the track (well meaning pop stars record a charity song on very short notice) still makes for a wonderful story, and the repeated "feed the world" chorus can still get me choked up on occasion.  But it's gotten to the point where the smug, condescending tone of the lyrics is rapidly eroding my enjoyment of the song.  

The first verse starts innocently enough. Throw your arms around the world, spread the joy this time of year, and so on.  Then it all transforms into grim death -- literally -- and post-colonialist condescension.  The idea that Christmas should be the aspiration to save poor people from misery is absolutely soaked through with the stench of white man's burden.  As if the fact that Christmas isn't on the radar of people in a completely different part of the world -- regardless of their socio-economic condition -- is the saddest, most tragic fact imaginable and must be corrected without delay.  If the famine had been in, say, Saudi Arabia then perhaps more people would hear these lyrics for what they really are?

I have always liked the song and the Christmas season wouldn't be the same without hearing it a few times.  But I couldn't, in good conscience, oppose phasing it out of holiday playlists if a serious movement to do so arose.