Christmas Is Coming

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For the 2017 film, see Christmas Is Coming (film).

"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]

\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 [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! }


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]

  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. ^ a b "Christmas is Coming [Country Gardens]". www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Christmas Is Coming | The Tabernacle Choir". YouTube. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  6. ^ 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.
  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. 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. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Christmas Is Coming – Nursery Rhymes". allnurseryrhymes.com. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  18. ^ "John Denver & The Muppets Christmas is Coming". YouTube. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is Coming". YouTube. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Christmas Is A Comin'". YouTube. Retrieved 1 October 2023.


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