Tis the season to hear the same Christmas songs over and over.

Live long enough and you'll end up hating those once-merry tunes that have now made you dive for the skip button.

So here's a half dozen songs you won't find on your cousin's playlist from Des Moines.

"Jesus" - Lou Reed & The Blind Boys of Alabama

While some may argue that Christmas is just the Winter Solstice that's been co-opted by religious orgs, when it comes down to it, it's also a celebration of the Baby Jesus' miraculous birth.

Nearly 1/3 of the planet calls themselves Christians, so why not throw them a bone with a sincere song from someone you least expected a Christian hymn to emanate from: the typically curmudgeon Lou Reed.

Originally written during his Velvet Underground days, the tune appeared on the band's eponymous third album. Decades later The Blind Boys of Alabama covered it and Lou changed the arrangement a bit.

The Velvets performed it 8 times live, Lou did it 17 times, and the Blind Boys covered it four times.

The Blind Boys are very busy over the next few months. Go to their website for tickets to their shows.

"Only At Christmas Time" - Sufjan Stevens

Maybe you want to keep it a little dark this Noel? It wouldn't be off-brand.

The story of the baby Jesus isn't all frankincense and myrrh. His dad couldn't find a proper place for The Messiah to be born so they had to resort to a stinky cold stable.

And as soon as his umbilical cord was cut, they had to skedaddle to Africa because King Herod of Judea was so freaked out by Jesus, he ordered all male babies under two to be murdered. Some say over 144,000 kids were killed in what is called the Slaughter of the Innocents.

Is Sufan's "Only at Christmas Time"that dark? No. But its vibe sure somber. A tune you'd whisper at midnight mass while hearing the old folks snoring in the pews because it's past their bedtimes.

Suf only played it six times. All in December of 2012 during his Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Disaster Pageant On Ice tour. Then never again. He doesn't even tour any more.

"No Christmas While I'm Talking" - The Walkmen

Is this really a Christmas song? No. Does it have anything to do with the holidays or a virgin birth or why presents are silly and we should really just give to the poor all Christmas season instead of packing the malls for junk we don't need? Also, no.

This is a song about heartbreak and misery and being cheated on and lied to.

And it's sung so dramatically and drawn out that if you get to see it live you might just cry into your overpriced Coors Light.

So in a way it's very much a Christmas song you'd hear in a bar in the town you grew up with while trying to avoid your family and all their drama and dogs that bark at everything and relatives who believe what they read on the Internet.

In the 21 years since they live debuted the song here's how many people have covered it: zero.

"Christmas Eve Can Kill You" - The Everly Brothers

In the '50s, '60s, and '70s, hitchhiking was a way of transportation.

Sure some people were murdered or kidnapped but most weren't and young people could travel pretty much anywhere as long as they had a thumb and a bit of courage.

Even in the 5x Oscar-winning pre-code screwball rom-com It Happened One Night (1934), one of the best scenes is of Clarke Gable and Claudette Colbert trying to hitchhike.

Those days are long gone. How many of us would pick up a hitchhiker today? Close to zero.

The narrator in the Everly Brothers' somber song isn't on edge because of the danger of climbing into a stranger's car, but because, "the sound of someone's laughter chills me to the bone."

Beautifully dark tune brought to us by the brothers behind the giddy "Wake Up Little Suzy" and "Bye Bye Love."

"I Was Born on Christmas Day" - Saint Etienne and Tim Burgess

Enough of the doom and gloom. Over 20 years ago the cutesy Saint Etienne had a collab with Tim Burgess of The Charlatans UK with a peppy original Christmas song.

The 1993 tune was inspired by Saint Etienne keyboard player Bob Stanley's birthday. In the video singer Sarah Cracknell "marries" Burgess. She loved the location so much that when she actually got hitched, she chose the same spot.

Go to the Charlatans' website for the two gigs they've got booked for 2025.