i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

Three versions of the same holiday song. Some people may be offended by this song, so if Keen poking fun at his own family's Southern stereotypes is going to upset you, skip this.

[Robert Earl Keen -- "Merry Christmas From The Family"] 4.3MB, .mp3. The original. I've always been a fan of Keen's voice, but this is pretty straight-up country, so unless you like to hear originals before you hear covers, this may not be for you.

[The Mountain Goats -- "Merry Christmas From The Family"] 5.2MB, .mp3. The sound quality is iffy -- it was recorded at, I believe, Christmas at the Cradle (at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC) a couple of years ago, so there's a fair amount of indie hipster crowd noise, but there's something off-kilter-ly charming about John howling this southern fried country Christmas anthem in his typical lo-fi indie rock style.

[Jill Sobule -- "Merry Christmas From The Family"] 4MB, .mp3. Done in Sobule's lilting baby-doll voice, this manages to sound simultaneously innocent and dirty as all hell. I love it.

IN RETURN: can anybody hook me up with Keen's song "Happy Holidays Y'all"? Preferably not the version that has the blank time in the middle of the track and then a very drunk Keen singing the song over again, if such a thing exists. Muchas gracias in advance, my loves.