Day 8 - Andy's Christmas Presents

 Day 8 - Andy's Christmas Presents


Andy's Christmas Presents - play song on Bandcamp

I can't remember when inspiration struck, but one day it occurred to me that 'and a partridge in a pear tree' could be mis-heard as 'Andy Partridge from XTC.' (For anyone my age that is!!)

So, for a bit of fun, I decided to write an alternative to the traditional song, substituting pop references for the twelve original presents.

Naturally, I had to shorten the track overall (as well as realising that finding substitutions wasn't going to be as easy as I thought - even with Google's help!). I decided that repetition would be tedious as well, which made my task even more arduous when finding suitable pop based gifts for my true love to bring.


 Over the years I've re-recorded the song, changing a few bits here and there and it's proved surprisingly popular (amongst my select audience). However, when trying to upload to, er, streaming sites, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I would be 'misleading the public' if I used my original title of 'Andy Partridge From XTC' - on the assumption that listeners would believe they were downloading, streaming or purchasing one of Andy's songs!


Still, I did get a note from the great man, saying how 'chuffed' he was to have a song in his name, so it wasn't all bad.

'Andy's Christmas Presents' by Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
Written, recorded, performed, produced by Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
This arrangement and lyrics (c) Richard Longley 2025
The original lyrics, published as early as 1780, and the traditional melody are public domain.

lyrics

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Andy Partridge from XTC

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me
‘Two Tribes’ by Frankie
Andy Partridge from XTC

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
‘Three Little Birds’
‘Two Become One’
Andy Partridge from XTC

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Four Non Blondes,
‘Three Steps To Heaven’
‘Two Hearts Together’
Andy Partridge from XTC

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Dave Clark Five
Four lads from Liverpool
‘Three Times A Lady’
Two Door Cinema Club
Andy Partridge from XTC

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Haircut 100,
UB40,
Ten Pole Tudor
Nine Inch Nails
‘Eight Days A Week’
‘Seven Nation Army’
Sixpence None The Richer
Ben Folds Five
Four to the floor
Fun Boy Three
‘Too Shy Shy’
Andy Partridge from XTC

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