Day 25 - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy Boyd - 25 Days of Christmas Angst

Review all 25 days of Christmas angst here:   

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Merry Christmas!  Happy Holidays! 
Feliz Navidad!  Joyeux Noel!  Fröhliche Weihnachten! 
Mele Kalikimaka!  God Jul!  Sheng Dan Kuai Le!

I saved "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" for Christmas Day for two reasons.  First, it clearly is set on Christmas morning, and more importantly, it is the most disturbing song on the list.
There have been many good covers of this song but in this case I like the original version by Jimmy Boyd (you can hear it here:  http://youtu.be/sVM-Vnjk4J8).

The premise of the song is simple enough.  A child sees his mother kissing Santa on Christmas Eve.  It can be assumed that Santa is really the child's father.  Perhaps the lines in which the child contemplates how his father would react could be taken as purely an expression of innocent wonder: 

Oh, what a laugh it would have been

If Daddy had only seen

Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.

It is difficult to deny though that we are dealing with a child at a very special age.  He is young enough to still believe in Santa Claus but old enough to understand that his father would be upset by this sight.

When the song was first released it was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church in Boston because of how it connected Christmas to sex.  The Los Angeles Times sums this event up in Boyd's obituary:

"The Catholic Church condemned the song for implying even a tenuous link between sex and the religious holiday, and radio stations in several markets banned it. The ban was lifted after the 13-year-old Boyd appeared before church leaders to talk about the lyrics."

Boyd apparently explained the tradition of kissing under mistletoe to the leaders of the church.  I would agree with his point were it not for this line:

Then, I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus

Underneath his beard so snowy white

This suggests something more intimate than an obligatory kiss under the mistletoe.

This song is also troubling because it is sung from the point of view of the child the morning after viewing this event.  It would be different if we were seeing an adult reflecting on the event described and realizing his/her own naivety.  Some modern versions of this song are exactly this.

What we are left with in this version is concern for this child who is confused by what he is seeing.  Will this child feel like he has to keep a secret or will he confront his mother?  Is this incident enough to plant seeds of distrust that will interfere with his ability to have healthy adult relationships later in life?

I know, I'm over thinking it.  However, please be careful when you are wearing a Santa suit.

There is a rather long tradition of twisting, tweaking, and corrupting the symbol of Santa Claus and the other traditions of Christmas.  This is okay; it is how traditions and mythologies get refined and become more meaningful.  If something is so easily made ridiculous, it will likely be dropped form our stories and traditions.

I see the giving of coal as a punishment for bad children fading from American Santa traditions.  This is okay.  In the Netherlands the tradition of Saint Nicholas being accompanied by "Black Pete" is gradually going away because of its connections to slavery. 

All of our most meaningful and important ideas, traditions, and myths are continually reinterpreted by each new generation. 

Yes, Cindy Lou, Christmas is changing but no more than any viable, living, relevant, and powerful idea must in order to stay relevant. 

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
as performed by Jimmy Boyd

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night.
She didn't see me creep
down the stairs to have a peep;
She thought that I was tucked
up in my bedroom fast asleep.

Then, I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white;
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.

[next two lines sung by backing singers]
I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night.

She didn't see me creep
down the stairs to have a peep;
She thought that I was tucked
up in my bedroom fast asleep.

[next two lines sung by backing singers]
I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white;

Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.

Resources:

"Jimmy Boyd dies at 70; singer of 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus'"
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-jimmy-boyd10-2009mar10,0,6186981.story

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Saw_Mommy_Kissing_Santa_Claus

Lyrics
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jimmy+boyd/i+saw+mommy+kissing+santa+claus_20344386.html

"How 'Merry Christmas' is said...
http://www.santas.net/howmerrychristmasissaid.htm

"Zwarte Piet"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet

25 Days Of Christmas Angst
Day	Song	Download/Purchase	Info
25	"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy Boyd	Buy the full album: Buy the song:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Hopefully Santa brought this boy a down payment on years of therapy.
24	"Silent Night" by John Denver & The Muppets	Buy the full album: Buy the song:	Read my blog post for more about this song. The story of the song, in the song. Denver and the Muppets take on a Christmas standard.
23	"Carol Of The Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller	Buy the full album: Buy the song:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Chip Davis brings a driving and slightly ominous feel to a standard Christmas carol.
22	"Christmas" by The Who (from Tommy)	Buy the full album: Tommy Buy the song: Christmas Buy the DVD: Buy the Blu-Ray: Amazon Instant Streaming:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Tommy contains a very disturbing Christmas scene with an equally disturbing song to go with it.
21	"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Fred Astaire (from the stop motion classic Santa Claus is Coming to Town)	Buy the DVD: Amazon Instant Streaming:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Who is this "Claus" and why is he coming to my town? Did TSA check him out?
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Day 24 - "Silent Night" by John Denver & The Muppets - 25 Days of Christmas Angst

Quiet evening, moon-lit night,
The world is silent; the moon is in sight.
'Round the world people marvel at the light,
The moon is here for rich and for poor.
All sleep peacefully and secure.

There are many songs that tell the Nativity story.  A few already on this list could be counted in that number.  The modern musical takes on this story need to prove themselves worthy over time.

So, if you focus on traditional carols there are few that rise to the level of "Silent Night."  This song's superiority is due to its simplicity and its universal message.  

"Silent Night" is THE Christmas carol.  It tells the story of Jesus' birth with simple lyrics and a beautifully simple musical accompaniment. 

The two traditional carols to compete with "Silent Night" are "O Holy Night" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem." 

"O Holy Night" is a more beautiful song packed with more emotion than "Silent Night," but it fails to appeal to the masses because the vocals require a significant amount of skill to perform.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem" has lyrics that are nonsensical to a modern audience and therefore difficult to remember and sing with conviction.

It is difficult to imagine what Christmas looked before 1818 or what it would look like today if "Silent Night" had not been composed that year and handed down to us.

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The John Denver and Muppet version I am recommending today is great because it focuses on the song itself.  The first part of this version is the first verse of the song in its original German.  Then Denver tells the story of the song's creation.  There is some doubt about the song needing to be composed in this simple manner because of the broken organ but the other details are correct.  Then the first verse is sung in the most accepted English translation.  You can listen to this version here:  http://youtu.be/_O8PfL0QnXc.

Several years ago I compiled a two CD "mixed tape" with as many versions of "Silent Night" as I could find.  This was a Christmas gift for a fried who loved the carol and appreciated all of the different versions.  In my searching I learned that there are hundreds in dozens of languages.  Yes, many Christmas carols have been translated into many languages, but none have this much world wide adoption.  There is something special about this song. 

It could be, as I suggest above, that it is its simplicity of lyric and music alone that make it appealing.  I think there might be more to it.

Regardless of your religious affiliation, the idea of a peaceful night with no worries is appealing.  Add in the image of a mother holding her newborn son and you have a nearly universal appeal to the human psyche.  Other Nativity songs overdo the details and fail to focus on the real story. 

It isn't the manger, the sheep, or the wise men we are here to look at.  Singing about those details would be like going to the maternity ward in a hospital to admire the bassinets the babies are in or to praise the scale they weigh the children on.

I have encountered versions that even drop "Virgin" from the line "Round yon Virgin Mother and Child."  Again, this makes the image more universally appealing and simplifies the song even more.

Expressions of hope, messages of universal appeal, and wishes for peace fill the mythology of the holidays.  The story told in "Silent Night" and the beautiful music that accompany it meet all three of these ends.

Silent Night
as performed by John Denver & The Muppets

[Muppets, in chorus]
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

[John Denver, spoken]
On December 24, 1818 the curate of a parish in Oberndorf, Austria, Joseph Mohr, gave a poem that he had written to a friend of his, Franz Gruber, who was also the choir master and organist in that church.  He asked Mr. Gruber if would write music for his poem, that he might write it for two solo voices and guitar accompaniment because the organ being broken he desperately wanted music to be part of their Christmas eve service.  Mr. Gruber wrote the melody to a song which has become the most beloved of all the Christmas carols, "Stille Nacht," in English - "Silent Night."  Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!  Sleep in heavenly peace.

[John Denver echoes The Muppets in chorus]
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

-----
Silent Night
[complete English version]

Silent night, holy night
All is calm all is bright
'Round yon virgin Mother and Child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia;
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Resources:

"Silent Night"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night

"Stille Nacht:  Lyrics and History"
http://german.about.com/od/christmas/a/StilleNacht.htm

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/o_little_town_of_bethlehem.htm

Lyrics
http://www.carols.org.uk/silent_night.htm
 

25 Days Of Christmas Angst
Day	Song	Download/Purchase	Info
24	"Silent Night" by John Denver & The Muppets	Buy the full album: Buy the song:	Read my blog post for more about this song. The story of the song, in the song. Denver and the Muppets take on a Christmas standard.
23	"Carol Of The Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller	Buy the full album: Buy the song:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Chip Davis brings a driving and slightly ominous feel to a standard Christmas carol.
22	"Christmas" by The Who (from Tommy)	Buy the full album: Tommy Buy the song: Christmas Buy the DVD: Buy the Blu-Ray: Amazon Instant Streaming:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Tommy contains a very disturbing Christmas scene with an equally disturbing song to go with it.
21	"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Fred Astaire (from the stop motion classic Santa Claus is Coming to Town)	Buy the DVD: Amazon Instant Streaming:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Who is this "Claus" and why is he coming to my town? Did TSA check him out?
Click this link to preview the remaining days of angst or review the previous days:  http://www.carneylentz.com/p/25-days-of-christmas- angst.html

Day 23 - "Carol Of The Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller - 25 Days of Christmas Angst

Okay, they aren't silver, but they are bells.

Running through the snow is not how I wanted to spend Christmas this year. 

I have to keep running though.  Left, right, left, right.  Just focus on staying upright and ahead of the Recovery Craft.

As they pursue me through the forest, the descending glissando of their plasma engines sends animals scurrying out ahead of the rumbling vehicle.

The distinctive tonal hums of scanners sweeping fills the forest as their targeting system chimes in with a repeated "no-lock" signal.  Safe for now.

I put as much speed as I can into my legs.  I have a slight advantage because their craft is large, which means it cannot go full speed in this forest. 

The ground rumbles from their propulsion engines.  Snow is shaken off of every tree within 100 feet of their craft.  If not for the trees, they would have caught me already.

I lose myself in the running for a moment.  The cool air, the beauty of the world in winter.  It is a good day to be alive.

Then they unleash their audio-neural weapon:

Hark how the bells,

Sweet silver bells,

All seem to say,

Throw care away.

The human voices throw me for a minute; the Mannians have no vocal cords.  Have they synthesized these or are they using some poor soul as a puppet.  Or are they projecting these thoughts directly into my brain.  It works; I start to slow down.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Well, they are seasonally aware.  But definitely synthesized.  Their computer glitches on the word "merry." 

Ding dong, ding dong.

The last "dong" jars me out of my stupor, it is so ominous. 

Run!  My life does depend on it.  I fly by the trees, duck under branches, and jump fallen logs.  

I can see the curving dome wall of New Phoenix ahead.  A 100 yard dash across an opening and I'll be there.  

I fumble in my coat for my access fob as I sprint across the open field.  I can make it.  I'm almost there.

Only 20 yards away, I hear the bell chime of a target lock, "ding-ding-ding-ding."  The weaponized acoustic wave hits me and I drop to the ground.  

On the brink of unconsciousness, I hear the low rumble of the automated defense systems of New Phoenix coming to life; this is my last hope.

*     *     *     *     *

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The above was inspired by Mannheim Steamroller's take on "The Carol of the Bells."  You can hear the version I am refering to here:  http://youtu.be/NVftSkNgJTA. 

I really like this song, not just this version.  Throughout the year I find myself listening to different versions depending on my mood.  There are many instrumental versions of the work originally composed by Mykola Leontovych, which was based on a traditional Ukraine folk chant. 

Mannheim Steamroller also does a version they call "Carol of the Birds" with instrumentation consisting of woodwinds and guitar; this is on the same Christmas Celebration album as "The Carol of the Bells."

I like the music, not the lyrics.  There are many instrumental only versions of this song that I like.  This is the only instrumental piece on my list; it does contain sampled human voices to "sing" one verse and a few other lines from the lyrics written by Peter J. Wilhousky.

Chip Davis uses stereo sound to create an unsettling mood by having beats from the same instrument and/or within the same musical phrase rhythmically alternate between left and right.  This uncomfortable mood is balanced by being paired with beautiful "wall of sound" moments and a driving rhythm.

I love what Davis has done with this song.  His arrangement works well and taps into both the highs and lows of the season. 

Or, with an active imagination, you can let it take you to a time when human kind is living on the fringes of an alien civilization. 

Carol Of The Bells
lyrics by Peter J. Wilhousky

Hark how the bells,
Sweet silver bells,
All seem to say,
Throw cares away

Christmas is here,
Bringing good cheer,
To young and old,
Meek and the bold,

Oh how they pound,
Raising the sound,
O'er hill and dale,
Telling their tale,

Gaily they ring
While people sing
Songs of good cheer,
Christmas is here,

Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas,
On on they send ,
On without end,
Their joyful tone to every home
Dong Ding dong ding, dong Bong

Resources:

"Carol of the Bells"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_of_the_Bells

Lyrics
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/celticwoman/carolofthebells.html

25 Days Of Christmas Angst
Day	Song	Download/Purchase	Info
23	"Carol Of The Bells" by Mannheim Steamroller	Buy the full album: Buy the song:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Chip Davis brings a driving and slightly ominous feel to a standard Christmas carol.
22	"Christmas" by The Who (from Tommy)	Buy the full album: Tommy Buy the song: Christmas Buy the DVD: Buy the Blu-Ray: Amazon Instant Streaming:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Tommy contains a very disturbing Christmas scene with an equally disturbing song to go with it.
21	"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Fred Astaire (from the stop motion classic Santa Claus is Coming to Town)	Buy the DVD: Amazon Instant Streaming:	Read my blog post for more about this song. Who is this "Claus" and why is he coming to my town? Did TSA check him out?
Click this link to preview the remaining days of angst or review the previous days:  http://www.carneylentz.com/p/25-days-of-christmas- angst.html