Twelve Days (Before) Christmas

Day 3 - Up on the Housetop & Jolly Old St. Nicholas

We're combining two very popular Christmas songs today due to the fact that their origins (or mistaken origins) are somewhat entwined, and they were written in America in successive years in the 1860's!

Up on the Housetop was written in 1864 by Benjamin Hanby (1833-1867). According to William Studwell in The Christmas Carol Reader, Up on the Housetop is the second-oldest secular Christmas song, outdone only by James Lord Pierpont's Jingle Bells (published in 1857). It is also considered the first Yuletide song to focus primarily on Santa Claus. It was originally published by Root & Cady in the magazine Our Song Birds. According to Reader's Digest Merry Christmas Song Book, Hanby probably owes the idea that Santa and his sleigh land on the roofs of homes to Clement C. Moore and his 1822 poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas (also commonly known as The Night Before Christmas). Up on the Housetop has been recorded by a multitude of singers, most notably Gene Autry in 1953.

1. Up on the housetop reindeer pause,

Out jumps good old Santa Claus.

Down thru the chimney with lots of toys,

All for the little ones, Christmas joys.

Chorus

Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go.

Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go!

Up on the housetop, click, click, click.

Down thru the chimney with good Saint Nick.

2. First comes the stocking of little Nell;

Oh, dear Santa, fill it well;

Give her a dolly that laughs and cries,

One that will open and shut her eyes.   Chorus

3. Next comes the stocking of little Will

Oh, just see what a glorious fill

Here is a hammer, And lots of tacks

Also a ball, And a whip that cracks.   Chorus

Up On The House Top - Gene Autry (1953)

Up on the House Top - (arr. Tony Guerrero & Tim Davis) Jane Lynch, Kate Flannery, Tim Davis

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas originated with a poem entitled Lilly's Secret by Emily Huntington Miller (1833-1913), which was published in the December 1865 issue of The Little Corporal Magazine. Miller was an associate editor of the magazine, and would later become editor-in-chief. This magazine eventually  merged with the St. Nicholas Magazine in 1875. At points in the song's history the lyrics have been misattributed to both John Piersol McCaskey, and to Benjamin Hanby, who wrote our first song Up on the Housetop. The music to Jolly Old Saint Nicholas is generally believed to have been written by James R. Murray (who also wrote the music to the American version of Away in a Manger). The first publication of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas with Murray's music was in School Chimes (1874, pub. by S. Brainard's Sons). An 1881 publication also gives attribution to the "S. Brainard's Sons publication", namely . . . James R. Murray. The song has gone on to become a perennial Christmas classic.

1. Jolly old St. Nicholas, Lean your ear this way!

Don’t you tell a single soul, What I’m going to say;

Christmas Eve is coming soon; Now, you dear old man,

Whisper what you’ll bring to me; Tell me if you can.

2. When the clock is striking twelve, When I'm fast asleep,

Down the chimney, broad and black, With your pack you'll creep;

All the stockings you will find Hanging in a row;

Mine will be the shortest one, You'll be sure to know.

3. Johnny wants a pair of skates, Susy wants a dolly;

Nellie wants a story book; She thinks dolls are folly;

As for me, my little brain Isn’t very bright;

Choose for me, old Santa Claus, What you think is right.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas - Maurice Chevalier

Jolly Old St. Nicholas - (arr. Arthur Frackenpohl) Canadian Brass

Jolly Old St. Nicholas - Anna (age 8) & Collin (age 6)