Christmas Is Coming
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"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
[edit]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
[edit]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]
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c'4 c8 d e4 c8 c
e8 d e f g4 r4 \break
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\addlyrics {
Christ -- mas is com -- ing, the goose is get -- ting fat;
Please [do] put a pen -- ny in the old man's hat.
If you have -- n't got a pen -- ny, [then] a ha' -- pen -- ny will do.
If you have -- n't got a ha' -- pen -- ny, [then] God bless you!
}](http://upload.wikimedia.org/score/7/a/7alw22cg35v6zsns8s3zx7x73cd5m18/7alw22cg.png)
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".[4][10]
Traditional collected versions
[edit]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
[edit]The Kingston Trio recorded the song as "A Round About Christmas", on their album The Last Month of the Year released in 1960.[6][16][17] A calypso sounding version was featured on the 1979 album John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together[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
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "School Rhymes". Bye-Gones, Relating to Wales and the Border Counties: 264. July 1885. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "Nursery Rhymes and Children's Jingles". Shropshire Folk-Lore: A Sheaf of Gleanings: 571. 1886. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "Christmas Is Coming". www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Christmas is Coming [Country Gardens]". www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Christmas Is Coming | The Tabernacle Choir". YouTube. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Origins: Christmas is Coming [revised, updated 11-12-14]". TreasuryIslands. 2012-12-13. Archived from the original on 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ Sing and Dance: Folk Songs and Dances Including American Play-party Games. Hall & McCreary Company. 1945. p. 55. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "CHRISTMAS IS COMING lyrics ***". www.carols.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ Davies, Walford (1914). "Christmas is Coming". imslp.org. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Christmas is Coming". YouTube. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Black Puddings (Roud Folksong Index S431207)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "Christmas is Coming (Roud Folksong Index S374113)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "Christmas Time is Coming (Roud Folksong Index S404480)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "Christmas is Coming the Geese is Getting Fat (Roud Folksong Index S335124)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "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". sounds.bl.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ "A Round About Christmas". YouTube. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Christmas Is Coming – Nursery Rhymes". allnurseryrhymes.com. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
- ^ "John Denver & The Muppets Christmas is Coming". YouTube. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is Coming". YouTube. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Christmas Is A Comin'". YouTube. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
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