‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’: A Historical Dialectic
Mariah Carey, the great philosopher of love in our time
Welcome to The 12 Days of Christmas Songs: an attempt to uncover the forgotten history of some of the most memorable festive tunes. From December 14 through 25, we’ll be tackling one secular song and one holy song each day.
Ah, Mariah Carey, that great philosopher of the human heart. Fools have the end of her Christmas-music reign. But according to , 21 years after she set loose her hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” she’s still exactly where she belongs: at the top. Since 1994, the song has sold more than and made in royalties. And besides making her some sweet seasonal cash, Carey’s masterpiece is an incredible feat of philosophical subterfuge. Christmas is a time of material- and
