I was just talking to a friend here at work and we got on the topic of those adolesent songs set to Christmas tunes and how his kids picked them up at school. We began to wonder about their origins, as we were both very familiar with identical versions as kids, despite growing up at oposite ends of the country.
Anyone know?
Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you every saw it
You would even say it glowed
like a lightbulb
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
like dumb bo
They never let poor Rudolph
Play in any reindeer games
like monopoly
OK
I was thinking more along the lines of the satire that is made of some songs, for instance…
Deck the halls with gasoline, fa la la (etc.)
Light a match and watch it gleam, fa la la (etc).
Watch the school burn down to ashes, fa la la (etc.)
Aren’t you glad I play with matches, fa la la (etc.)
Or
Joy to the world, the school burned down…etc.
Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg,
Batmobile lost its wheel, and the Joker got away.
“We three drunks from Sloppy Joe’s bar,
Drinkin beer and driving a car;
Oh, so merry, oh so hairy…
lost the wheel, again…”
Arrgh.
we three kings of orient are
tried to smoke a white owl cigar
it was loaded
it exploded
that was the end of
we three kings of orient are
I’ve heared one like that, with the last lines being
It was loaded and exploaded
sending his pieces far!
In church on Sunday, we sang the carol “The Angel Gabriel From Heaven Came”. It has the refrain of “most highly favored lady” which gets updated to “most highly flavored gravy”…
Hark the hair-lipped angels sing
Moof a-moof a-moof
A-moof moof moof
djm
While shepards washed their socks by night
All seated around the tub
The angel of the Lord came down
And said “Scrub, Scrub, Scrub”
MarkB
[quote=“missy”]All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
like dumb bo[/quote]
We always said “like pinnochio” instead of “like dumbo.”
Well, I remember this one from MAD magazine, at the height of the
women’s lib era:
Buzz off ye lousy gentlemen,
Our Christmas you won’t mar.
Without the mother giving birth,
You’d have no Superstar.
She did it all without your help
In Bethlehem back then,
Which all proves we don’t need you lousy men,
Chauvinist men,
Which all proves that we don’t need you lousy men.
Can we get an official ruling please? Instant replay?
djm
I still remember Pogo’s classic:
Deck the halls with Boston Charlie
Walla Walla Wash
and Kalamazoo
Nora’s freezin’ on the trolley
Swaller dollar cauliflower
Alley garoo
We used to sing:
Jingle bells
Shotgun shells
BB’s all the way
and the rest has faded away dimly into the mists of time, like so much that … um, I mean …
What was the question?
Roger
Jingle Bells
Batman smells
Robin laid an egg.
The Batmobile
lost a wheel
and Joker got away…
I remember that! Thanks for reminding me. 
djm
We did this one too. Had never heard the “gravy” angle, but now I’ll always think of it every time I play the thing.
This one circulated among the American kids in the Philippines. It is based on the practice of street beggars of saying “Merry Christmas” when they are begging. “Maligayang Pasko” means “merry Christmas” in Tagalog, one of the dialects of the Philippines. “Hey Joe” was a common call made to Americans (or other foreigners assumed to be Americans).
To the tune of “Happy Birthday”:
Maligayang Pasko,
Give me money, hey Joe!
No money, no go!
Maligayang Pasko!
Like Random Notes I thought of the Pogo caroles. The second part goes:
"Don’t we know archaic barrel,
Lullaby, lillabey, Louisville Lou?
Trolley Molly don’t love Harold,
Boola boola Pensacoola hullabaloo!
Here are some alternate choruses by Walt Kelly
Bark us all bow-wows of folly,
Polly wolly cracker n’ too-da-loo!
Donkey Bonny brays a carol,
Antelope Cantaloup, 'lope with you!
Hunky Dory’s pop is lolly-
gaggin’ on the wagon, Willy follow go through!
Chollie’s collie barks at Barrow,
Harum scarum five alarum bung-a-loo!
Duck us all in bowls of barley,
Hinkydinky dink an’ polly voo!
Chilly Filly’s name is Chollie,
Chollie Filly’s jolly chilly view halloo!
Bark us all bow-wows of folly,
Double-bubble toyland trouble! Woof, Woof, Woof!
Tizzy seas ob melon collie,
Dibble-dabble, scribble-scrabble! Goof, Goof, Goof!
Source: http://vets.appliedphysics.swri.edu/pipermail/harborsite/2001-December/000377.html