The song is a cover of the Christmas classic by the Pogues, performed by Christy Moore on the Jools Holland show. The song begins and ends with a short anecdote giving some background to how the singer learned the song from Shane McGowan. The lyrics are altered from the traditional version and the song is delivered in the singer's usual, passionate manner. The lyrics are a little risque in parts, so probably more suitable for adult learners, some pictures are included for vocabulary. I give the students the text first, let them read, identify the underlined vocabulary that matches the pictures, discuss other underlined vocabulary and then listen to the song. I also have some discussion questions ready for after the song, such as how it's different to most xmas songs, is it positive or negative, the descriptions of New York etc. The past tense verbs could also be analysed as a grammar focus, the worksheets could be easily edited to suit.
