For several weeks now, I have been randomly singing Christmas carols. Sometimes they are sparked by a song I hear in a store or by a decoration I see in someone's yard. This afternoon I saw a Santa on a rooftop and before I realized it, I was singing Up on the House Top. Now I have sung that song almost my whole life and it wasn't until that moment I ever thought about who it was exactly that wouldn't go. For those of you who don't know or have forgotten the lyrics, here they are.
Up on the house top reindeer paused
Out jumps good old Santa Claus
Down through the chimney with lots of toys
All part of a little ones with Christmas joys
Oh oh oh who wouldn't go? Oh ho ho who wouldn't go?
Up on the housetop
Click click click
Down to the chimney with the good St. Nick
First come the stop in the middle bell
Hope dear Santa feeling well
Give her a doll in the laps and cries
One that can open and shut it tight
Oh ho ho who wouldn't go Oh ho ho who wouldn't go?
Up on the house top, click click click
Down to the chimney with good St. Nick
Look in the stop in the middle bell
Hope just sees what a glorious well
Here's a little hammer and lots of pack
A whistle and a ball and a wood clap clap
Oh ho ho who wouldn't go? Oh ho ho who wouldn't go?
Up on the house top, click click click
Down through the chimney with the good St. Nick
Oh oh ho who wouldn't go? Oh ho ho who wouldn't go?
Up on the house top, click click click
Down through the chimney with good St. Nick (repeat this line once)
As you can see, twice in every chorus, they ask, "Who wouldn't go?" Who are they talking about? I couldn't find any references to it on the internet. Is it so obvious that it doesn't need a discussion? Help me out. Who do you think wouldn't go?
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Up on the Housetop was written in the mid 1860's by Benjamin Hanby and was the first song to focus on Santa Claus. It has been recorded many times, but the most famous is probably the recording by Gene Autry.
Ummm... people who are terrified of heights?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I always thought it was "Up on the housetop reindeer PAWS" hmmmm.... yet another misheard song lyric.
Of course, as a kid raised by a vehemently atheist father, I always thought the line in Hark the Herald Angels Sing where it says "God and sinners reconciled" was "Goddam sinners reconciled!" Oh, it makes me chuckle!
Your "Hark the Herald" misheard lyric is too funny. I often have the lyrics of a song close, but wrong. It drives my sister crazy.
DeleteHmmm...Interesting! It's one of those songs that you always hum but I've never thought of it before.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about it before either. Now I've got something to distract me from all that has to be done over the next week.
DeleteThese are not the lyrics I learned--I learned the ones on metrolyrics.com. The verses I learned make a lot more sense than the ones you have posted here, but you're right, who wouldn't go, indeed???
ReplyDeleteAnd EcoCatLady's lyric misinterpretation was funny enough to make me laugh out loud!
I found several variations on the lyrics for this song, but I linked to the ones from Gene Autry because that's the version most people know. However, I like the one's you're familiar with better. I too laughed out loud with Cat's version of "Hark the Herold."
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