Randy Seaver has posted a fun challenge this week for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:
Are you in the Christmas spirit yet? I love this time of year – and hearing and singing Christmas carols and songs is my favorite holiday pastime.
Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:1) Identify your absolute favorite Christmas Carol or Holiday song.2) Share your favorite Christmas carol or holiday song in a blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook post. Please leave a comment and link here to your post.3) For extra credit, post an audio or video of the carol or song (almost all are on www.YouTube.com) and the words to the song. Add the background of the song, and the artists if you can find them.4) Enjoy the memories and feelings that the carol or song brings to your heart and mind, and share them too!
I absolutely love Christmas Carols (and stream them non-stop on my computer from 1 November each year thanks to Phoenix radio station 99.9 KEZ.
That makes it difficult to choose my absolute favorite song. However, I think I’d still have to say The Little Drummer Boy by the Harry Simeone Chorale.
The song was written in 1941, so not terribly old by caroling standards, by Katherine Kennicott Davis and Harry Simeone. It wasn’t released until 1958, when I was a little kid. I must have heard it many times and it became ingrained in my brain!
Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born king to see
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the king
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum
So to honor him
Pa rum pum pum pum
When we come
Pa rum pum pum pum
When we come
Pum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum pa rum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum pa rum
Little baby
Pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum pum
That’s fit to give our king
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
That’s fit to give our king
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum
Shall I play for you
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum
Pum pum pum pum
Mary nodded
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for him
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for him
Pa rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum,
Rum pum pum pum
Then he smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born king to see
Pa rum pum pum pum
Pa rum pum pum pum
A new born king to see
Pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Me and my drum
Me and my drum
Me and my drum
Rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum
Me and my drum
Me and my drum
Rum pum pum pum
That’s a lot of Pa rum pum pum pum!
However, as I said, I love Christmas carols so I definitely have several more favorites on my list.
White Christmas – Bing Crosby
The Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth) – Bing Crosby and David Bowie
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Burl Ives
Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
Up on the Housetop – Gene Autry
Silent Night – Bing Crosby
The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
Adeste Fideles/O Come All Ye Faithful – Bing Crosby
I Love Those J I N G L E Bells – Frank Sinatra
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
The Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth) – Bing Crosby and David Bowie
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Burl Ives
Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
Up on the Housetop – Gene Autry
Silent Night – Bing Crosby
The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
Adeste Fideles/O Come All Ye Faithful – Bing Crosby
I Love Those J I N G L E Bells – Frank Sinatra
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
I have to add one more song that has grown on me the last few years. One of my very favorite cruises is the round trip from Los Angeles to Hawaii, which Dave and I have taken three times, always in December.
I collect Santas and, last year, I found the little guy in the photo above. He was a Christmas special ($12) in Maui. I knew I had to add him to my collection!
Back to the Christmas song – being in Hawaii in December means we walk around the shops and hear Bing Crosby (I’m partial to his songs, if you hadn’t noticed in the list above) sing – yep – Mele Kalikimaka!
Thanks, Randy, for this week’s fun challenge.
The Little Drummer Boy by the Harry Simeone Chorale was my mother-in-law’s favorite record and she bought it for us, and it quickly became our favorite, too.
That Santa almost looks like Randy!
Merry Christmas.
“The Little Drummer Boy” is my second favorite Christmas song of all time. Did you see Dr. Ken Jeong perform it on “The Masked Singer”? Definitely a unique experience.
I’ve never seen The Masked Singer. No one can top the original version, although my favorite Bing comes close. 🙂