Christmas Is Coming Explained
"Christmas Is Coming" is a traditional nursery rhyme and Christmas song frequently sung as a round. It is listed as number 12817 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
Lyrics
The following are common representative lyrics:
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please [do] put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, [then] a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, [then] God bless you!
Although the lyrics begin appearing in print in 1885
[1] and 1886,
[2] they are presented without an author and in a way of cataloging something that was already mostly common knowledge of the time. Some sources have variants of these lyrics and additional verses.
[3] [4] [5]
Music
The common melody paired with the lyrics is usually simply listed as a traditional English carol, while some sources curiously list the author Edith Nesbit Bland as its composer.[6] [7] [8] \layout \relative \addlyrics
Another common melody, usually listed as a traditional English carol, is differentiated by an arrangement of it made by Walford Davies, published in 1914.[9] The lyrics have also been paired with the melody of the English dance tune "Country Gardens".[10]
Traditional collected versions
A few field recordings were made of traditional versions of the song,[11] [12] [13] including one sung by Jack Elliot of Birtley, Durham to Reg Hall in the early 1960s,[14] which is archived within the British Library Sound Archive.[15]
Popular recordings
The Kingston Trio recorded the song as "A Round About Christmas", on their album The Last Month of the Year released in 1960.[16] [17] A calypso sounding version was featured on the 1979 album [18] and a loose, jazzy piano-based arrangement was featured in the musical score of A Charlie Brown Christmas.[19]
The rhyme also became the basis for the song "Christmas Is a-Comin'", written by Frank Luther and performed by Bing Crosby, among others.[20]
See also
Notes and References
- School Rhymes . Bye-Gones, Relating to Wales and the Border Counties . July 1885 . 264 . 30 September 2023 . en.
- Nursery Rhymes and Children's Jingles . Shropshire Folk-Lore: A Sheaf of Gleanings . 1886 . 571 . 30 September 2023.
- Web site: Christmas Is Coming . www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com . 1 October 2023.
- Web site: Christmas is Coming [Country Gardens] ]. www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com . 1 October 2023.
- Web site: Christmas Is Coming The Tabernacle Choir . . 23 December 2013 . 1 October 2023 . en.
- News: Origins: Christmas is Coming [revised, updated 11-12-14]]. 2012-12-13. TreasuryIslands. https://web.archive.org/web/20150411013652/https://treasuryislands.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/origins-christmas-is-coming/ . 2017-12-13. 2015-04-11 . en-US.
- Book: Sing and Dance: Folk Songs and Dances Including American Play-party Games . 1945 . Hall & McCreary Company . 55 . 1 October 2023 . en.
- Web site: CHRISTMAS IS COMING lyrics ***. www.carols.org.uk. 2017-12-13.
- Web site: Davies . Walford . Christmas is Coming . imslp.org . 1 October 2023 . 1914.
- Web site: Christmas is Coming . . 12 December 2020 . 1 October 2023 . en.
- Web site: Black Puddings (Roud Folksong Index S431207). 2020-11-10. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. en-gb.
- Web site: Christmas is Coming (Roud Folksong Index S374113). 2020-11-10. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. en-gb.
- Web site: Christmas Time is Coming (Roud Folksong Index S404480). 2020-11-10. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. en-gb.
- Web site: Christmas is Coming the Geese is Getting Fat (Roud Folksong Index S335124). 2020-11-10. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. en-gb.
- Web site: Christmas is coming the geese is getting fat - Reg Hall English, Irish and Scottish Folk Music and Customs Collection - World and traditional music British Library - Sounds. 2020-11-10. sounds.bl.uk.
- Web site: A Round About Christmas . . 6 November 2015 . 1 October 2023 . en.
- Web site: Christmas Is Coming – Nursery Rhymes. allnurseryrhymes.com. 14 April 2015 . en-US. 2017-12-13.
- Web site: John Denver & The Muppets Christmas is Coming . . 16 December 2013 . 1 October 2023 . en.
- Web site: Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is Coming . . 4 December 2012 . 1 October 2023 . en.
- Web site: Christmas Is A Comin' . . 17 October 2019 . 1 October 2023 . en.