Day 2 - A Couple of Not-so-Classic Christmas Songs
A note from ChipRadio:
Louis Prima's been a source of fascination for me ever since I picked up my first greatest hits compilation in high school. However, since those collections usually give the lion's share of the tracklist to his big-band and Vegas showman incarnations, I'm still pretty rusty on his pre-'40s output. At least, that's the excuse I give myself for not discovering his contribution to the Christmas canon until just this year. Recorded with his New Orleans Gang band in 1936, What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin') redirects the power of Prima's 1936 triumph Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) into a North Pole setting!
Ah, what will Santa Claus say
When he finds everybody swingin'?
What will Santa Claus say
When he hears that sing, sing, singin'?
Down the chimney, he will come
With his great big smile
And you'll find that even the kiddies
Are swingin' in the latest style
Oh, oh, oh, what is Santa bringing?
Oh, oh, oh, I wonder whether he'll be swingin'
Everywhere in the land
All the people will be singin'
Hadie, hadie, hi, hey, hey, hey
What is Santa Clause gonna say
When he finds everybody swingin'?
What will Santa Claus say
When he finds everybody swingin'?
What will Santa Claus say
When he hears them sing, sing, singin'?
What Will Santa Claus Say - Louis Prima (1936)
What Will Santa Claus Say - Puddles Pity Party
What Will Santa Claus Say - Bad Mouse Orchestra & Moon Berries
Must Be Santa is a Christmas song written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks and first released in November 1960 by Mitch Miller. A contrafactum (namely, the replacing the lyrics of a song with another set of words, without any substantial change to the music) of the German drinking song Schnitzelbank, Must Be Santa is structured as a call and response, with the lead singer posing the question of who has a certain feature, with the chorus responding that Santa Claus has that said feature. After every other verse, the list of features continues to add up, followed by a chorus of "must be Santa, must be Santa, must be Santa Claus." In November 2009, Bob Dylan released a version of the song in a polka-meets-klezmer style (based on an arrangement by Brave Combo) for his Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart.
Who's got a beard that's long and white?
Santa's got a beard that's long and white
Who comes around on a special night?
Santa comes around on a special night
Special night – beard that's white
Must be Santa, must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who wears boots and a suit of red?
Santa wears boots and a suit of red
Who wears a long cap on his head?
Santa wears a long cap on his head
Cap on head – suit that's red
Special night – beard that's white
Must be Santa, must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who's got a big red cherry nose?
Santa's got a big red cherry nose
Who laughs this way: "Ho-ho-ho"?
Santa laughs this way "Ho-ho-ho"
Ho-ho-ho – cherry nose
Cap on head – suit that's red
Special night – beard that's white
Must be Santa, must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Who very soon will come our way?
Santa very soon will come our way
Eight little reindeers pull his sleigh
Santa's little reindeer pull his sleigh
Reindeer sleigh – come our way
Ho-ho-ho – cherry nose
Cap on head – suit that's red
Special night – beard that's white
Must be Santa, must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Carter, Raegan, Bush, and Clinton
Reindeer sleigh – come our way
Ho-ho-ho – cherry nose
Cap on head – suit that's red
Special night – beard that's white
Must be Santa, must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Must be Santa, must be Santa
Must be Santa, Santa Claus
Must Be Santa - Bob Dylan
After that wild scene, I couldn't resist these . . .
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