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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

The following are common representative lyrics:

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man's hat
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you!

Although the lyrics begin appearing in print in 1885 and 1886, 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.

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.

\layout { \context { \Score \omit BarNumber } }\relative { \key c \major \time 4/4 c'4 c8 d e4 c8 c e8 d e f g4 r4 \break c8 g g g g a g f e4 d c g'8 g \break e8 g g g e g g g c, c' b a g4 g8 g \break e g g g e g g g a4 b c r4 } \addlyrics { Christ -- mas is com -- ing, the goose is get -- ting fat; Please put a pen -- ny in the old man's hat. If you have -- n't got a pen -- ny, a ha' -- pen -- ny will do. If you have -- n't got a ha' -- pen -- ny, God bless you! }


Another common melody, usually listed as a traditional English carol, is differentiated by an arrangement of it made by Walford Davies, published in 1914. The lyrics have also been paired with the melody of the English dance tune "Country Gardens".

Traditional collected versions

A few field recordings were made of traditional versions of the song, including one sung by Jack Elliot of Birtley, Durham to Reg Hall in the early 1960s, which is archived within the British Library Sound Archive.

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. A calypso sounding version was featured on the 1979 album John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together and a loose, jazzy piano-based arrangement was featured in the musical score of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The rhyme also became the basis for the song "Christmas Is a-Comin'", written by Frank Luther and performed by Bing Crosby, among others.

See also

References

  1. "School Rhymes". Bye-Gones, Relating to Wales and the Border Counties: 264. July 1885. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. "Nursery Rhymes and Children's Jingles". Shropshire Folk-Lore: A Sheaf of Gleanings: 571. 1886. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  3. "Christmas Is Coming". www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Christmas is Coming [Country Gardens]". www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  5. "Christmas Is Coming | The Tabernacle Choir". YouTube. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. Sing and Dance: Folk Songs and Dances Including American Play-party Games. Hall & McCreary Company. 1945. p. 55. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  8. "CHRISTMAS IS COMING lyrics ***". www.carols.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  9. Davies, Walford (1914). "Christmas is Coming". imslp.org. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  10. "Christmas is Coming". YouTube. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  11. "Black Puddings (Roud Folksong Index S431207)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  12. "Christmas is Coming (Roud Folksong Index S374113)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  13. "Christmas Time is Coming (Roud Folksong Index S404480)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  14. "Christmas is Coming the Geese is Getting Fat (Roud Folksong Index S335124)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  15. "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.
  16. "A Round About Christmas". YouTube. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  17. "Christmas Is Coming – Nursery Rhymes". allnurseryrhymes.com. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  18. "John Denver & The Muppets Christmas is Coming". YouTube. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  19. "Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is Coming". YouTube. 4 December 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  20. "Christmas Is A Comin'". YouTube. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2023.


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