“Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry & Oakley Haldeman – Chords, Tabs, and How to Play

“Here Comes Santa Claus”
Gene Autry & Oakley Haldeman

F
Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus,
C7
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer are
F
pulling on the reins.
Bb                       F
Bells are ringing, children singing;
Gm7                  F
All is merry and bright.
Bb                                     D7
Hang your stockings, and say your prayers,
D7        C7                              F
‘Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
He’s got a bag that is filled with toys for the
boys and girls again.
Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle,
What a beautiful sight.
Jump in bed, cover up your head,
‘Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
He doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, for he
Loves you just the same.
Santa knows that we’re God’s children,
That makes everything right.
Fill your hearts with Christmas cheer,
‘Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Here comes Santa Claus!
Here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus Lane!
He’ll come around when the chimes ring out; it’s
Christmas morn’ again.
Peace on Earth will come to all if
We just follow the light…
Let’s give thanks to the Lord above,
‘Cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **

“Jingle Bell Rock” (Bobby Helms Christmas Cover)

By Jim Fusco:

Part 4 of this four part Laptop Sessions extravaganza comes to you with another Christmas song!

This classic tune by Bobby Helms has been covered by almost every artist since the song came out. But, I figured the Laptop Sessions could use a jolt of a song everyone knows and can sing to.  But, you rarely hear an acoustic cover version of “Jingle Bell Rock”, though.  Most of the time, you’ll hear a country artist sing it or someone will try to turn it into a slow, crooning song.  Not me, though- I stay pretty true to the original song.  But, who says that you can’t rock out on acoustic guitar?  Of course, I’m using my nylon-stringed (or “gut” stringed) classical guitar that I bought while on vacation in Italy with one of my dearest friends.  I don’t think many people would associate a classical guitar with “Jingle Bell Rock”, but I like to make my acoustic cover videos have an intimate setting.  It allows me to sing at a nicer volume without having to worry about getting drowned out by my steel-stringed acoustic guitar.

As far as Christmas songs go, you can’t get more popular than “Jingle Bell Rock”.  Sure, some Christmas songs may be AS popular as this classic Bobby Helms tune, but this song is instantly recognizable.  Well, that’s kind of a given, seeing that you’ll probably hear it about a hundred times each Christmas.  A few years back, my free internet radio station, WCJM Internet Radio, did a Christmas show where we wanted to find out what the best original Christmas song was.  I chose the term “original song” because so many classic standards like Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town are simply untouchable.  We at WCJM Internet Radio wanted to find out which Christmas song other than those standards was the best.  And, whatever song won would be “retired” as a classic itself.  Well, “Jingle Bell Rock” was very close to the top of the list.  Oh, you didn’t think I would just give the list of the Best Original Christmas Songs away here on the music blog, right?  You’re going to have to head over to WCJM Radio by clicking here to find out for yourself!  Remember, all WCJM Internet Radio programs are absolutely free to listen to online.  They’re hilarious and I know you’ll become an instant fan.

So, sit back and sing along to this Bobby Helms Christmas cover song music video- it’s another step on my journey to make your holiday season great!

Christmas, Volume 3 – Playlists on Parade

By Chris Moore:

And so we come to the final installment of the ever-so-cleverly titled “Christmas” playlist series.

I don’t have much to say here, as I’ve already explained the process I went through and the purpose of these three Christmas playlists I’ve posted on the blog.  I will mention that this third volume seems to be a more relaxing, laid-back set than the previous two, especially after the first couple songs.  I didn’t mean for it to work out that way, but I’ve found this one quite soothing to listen to as I do some work around the house tonight.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading through them, and don’t miss next Saturday, when I’ll publish the final “Playlists on Parade” post of the year, which will serve to wrap up my work with Christmas music this season.

1. “Angels We Have Heard on High” – Relient K

2. “Elf’s Lament” – Barenaked Ladies

3. “Christmas to Remember” – America

4. “The Christmas Guest” – Johnny Cash

5. “December Snow” – The Moody Blues

6. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” – The Beach Boys

7. “Mele Kalikimaka” – Bing Crosby

8. “The Christmas Blues” – Bob Dylan

9. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Brenda Lee

10. “Jingle Bell Rock” – Bobby Helms

11. “Santa Claus is Back in Town” – Elvis Presley

12. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” – Elmo and Patsy

13. “What I Really Want for Christmas” – Brian Wilson

14. “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen / We Three Kings” – Barenaked Ladies (with Sarah McLachlan)

15. “Merry Christmas Darling” – Mike Fusco (with Jim Fusco)

16. “Holiday” – The Bee Gees

17. “Step Into Christmas” – Elton John

18. “White Christmas” – The Drifters

19. “Santa’s Beard” – The Beach Boys

20. “Joy to the World” – Brian Wilson

“Christmas (From Now On)” (Chris Moore Original Acoustic Song)

By Chris Moore:

Hello and welcome to a special Christmas Eve edition of your best bet for excellence in cover musicianship on the web — the Laptop Sessions home page!

For tonight’s video, I had initially planned on recording my original Christmas song “Moment.”  I have written two original Christmas songs in the past, and I already recorded the other (“Christmas Cards”) last year.  Thus, I began practicing “Moment.”  And I wish I had taken the time to record it earlier, because I really do like that song.  I take issue with some of the lyrics now, as I find them much too cheesy at points, but the overall feel of the song is one that I love.

Then, a song started coming to me.  And I’ll break my general silence on my songwriting process here, as there is such an amalgamation of influences and ideas that came together to forge this song.  First, you should know that I am purposely tipping my hat to the classic Christmas tune “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” with the beginning of my chorus lines.  Also, I used a chord pattern that Jim and I found to be recurrent in a lot of our favorite Christmas songs.  It’s a cycle of sorts with barre chords, starting with a major, going down two frets to a minor, then the lower minor on the same fret, and finally jumping back up to a higher fret.  Then, the same pattern is repeated.

In terms of what the words mean, I started off writing about my feelings about a very important person — my girlfriend of three years — who I’m no longer with.  I haven’t really resolved the situation, so there’s a lot on my mind and I think the emotion got this song started.

Then, I began to think about Christmas in general.  The past few years, I’ve really missed being able to spend the Christmas Eve festivities with my close friends.  Thus, the song shifted to be about reclaiming my Christmas traditions with my friends.

As the lyrics progressed and I changed lines, the song shifted again to be about my grandmother, who passed away a little over a year ago.  This is only my second Christmas without her, and I can’t understate how big a part she has always been of my Christmas.  As a kid, she and my grandfather would come over on Christmas Eve and we would have a really relaxing, enjoyable night — nights that I will forever remember with great fondness.  As a young man and up until last year, Christmas became an increasingly more important opportunity to spend quality time with her.  I don’t quite have the words right now in this format to describe what those days were like or what our relationship was like, and that’s what I tried to accomplish in the song.

Thus, I dedicate this song to my Grandma Moore, a person that I am truly better off for having known and grown up with.  I’m going to miss her a lot tomorrow, but writing this song really did help me to express some of that emotion.

As a final sidenote, I spent tonight at the second annual Fusco-Moore Experience Christmas Eve party.  I didn’t attend last year, but I figured I should probably attend this year, as my name is in the title and all…  According to Jim, the real reason I attended was because I didn’t have anything better to do.  Now, this may be true, but…  Seriously, though, tonight was really relaxing and fun, the food was amazing, I’m somehow still full from the multi-course meal, and thankfully, Jim’s mom cleaned the dishes.  It was a Christmas miracle, as far as I was concerned, that I didn’t have to clean them.  I always expect to, and there was more than double our average amount of dirty dishes tonight!  Thank you again, Mrs. Fusco!!

Jim, Mike, and I are planning a little get-together we’ll call “Mas Christmas” — or, for those of you who do not habla espanol, “More Christmas.”  I’m definitely looking forward to that!

For now, I’m off to get ready for Christmas morning.  It will be a full day, capped off by an all-new episode of TNA Impact! at 9pm in the Fusco Theatre.  And YOU will have an exciting new yuletide Jeff Copperthite video to look forward to…

Merry Christmas and see you next session!