“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. **
If you have found yourself suffering from a “pernicious case of the Mondays” and need something to turn your week around, then look no further than the best cover song music video blog on the Internet today!
That week, as with all weeks, there was a lot to look forward to.
That night, there was Chris Moore Monday. The next day, there was Jim Fusco Tuesday. On Saturday, there were chords to one of the most classic Christmas songs of all time. And, finally, there was The Weekend Review on Sunday, during which I’d reveal my pick for the #3 best rock album of the decade, 2000-2009. Thus far, it had been The Barenaked Ladies’ Maroon at #5 and, as of the day before, Elliott Smith’s Figure 8 at #4.
But that’s enough about the future. For now, let’s live in the moment.
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is a traditional song, which basically means that no one knows who wrote the song. I learned tonight that the song is more accurately referred to as “God rest you merry, gentlemen,” even though it is often incorrectly punctuated as “God rest you, merry gentlemen.” Of course, as an English teacher, I found this fascinating. Don’t you?
And, as if that wasn’t enough, Charles Dickens referred to this song in his classic holiday novel, A Christmas Carol. This is a novel that I loved when I first read it in my Charles Dickens class at CCSU, and I loved it even more when I returned to it a couple years ago. If I wasn’t so busy this month, I would re-read it for a third time.
Instead, I’m grading, getting car work done, attending real estate meetings, and, of course, decorating for Christmas. We had a lot of fun pulling out old decorations and buying some new ones to complete the Christmas spirit in the apartment. Even now, I sit bathed in the multi-colored glow of Christmas lights, and really, there’s no better atmosphere for typing a yuletide post.
I’m very proud of tonight’s session for a couple of reasons. First of all, I couldn’t find any reliable chords on the web to work from, so I essentially started from scratch. I used a set of lyrics and chords for the traditional arrangement as a foundation from which to transcribe, but Brian Wilson, true to form, added some twists as well as an instrumental middle section that I figured out on my own. Being that I’m more of a lyrics guy, I always feel excited when I crack a musical code, no matter how simple or complex it might be.
How long it took me, I won’t mention… 🙂
The other main reason I’m happy with this session is that, for whatever reason, this became one of those songs that I just couldn’t relax for. For instance, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember which line to sing after the instrumental break. I kept opting for the blending of the first and third bridges, singing, “To save all those who…” So, I played more takes than I’m willing to admit here, but in the end, I walked away with a complete session that I’m happy with. I especially enjoyed being able to play my Bb harmonica, a first for the Laptop Sessions!
“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is one of those songs that I’ve known forever. As I mentioned, it’s a traditional Christmas song that anyone who has gone to church has heard. I never particularly cared for the song — even the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan version was one I appreciated but never really loved.
Then, I listened to Brian Wilson’s 2004 Christmas album, What I Really Want for Christmas. I was immediately drawn to Wilson’s arrangement of this song, and it has become an instant favorite for me these past several years. The album as a whole has become a favorite of mine, right up there with the Beach Boys’ Christmas album and the Moody Blues’ December. (And, after five years, another top holiday album has been added in Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart.)
If you’ve heard Brian Wilson’s Christmas album — or even if you haven’t — I strongly recommend you go to YouTube and search “Brian Wilson What I Really Want for Christmas Video Part I.” I just watched this documentary today, which includes some great behind-the-scenes making-of footage, interviews, and clips from the album. If you love the album, it will remind you why. If you haven’t heard the album, it will make you want to.
And, on that note, I hope that my video makes you interested enough to want to hear the Brian Wilson version.
Of all the remastered Beatles discs, the Fab Four’s debut album might seem the least likely to be the first you’d want to hear. After all, it is their most raw effort, not only for the fact that it was their first experience in the studio but also because they were pursuing a “live” sound. It was essentially recorded in a day under the supervision of a profoundly talented producer (George Martin) and four boys with a tremendous deal of potential (John, Paul, George, and Ringo), all five of whom had yet to re-create — or, really, create — the genre in which they would spend much of their respective careers and earn much of their respective fame.
Perhaps for all those reasons, Please Please Me is an excellent place to start.
“Please Please Me” – the Beatles’ debut album, remastered for 2009!
Amidst all the controversies over mono versus stereo, should the remasters have been remixed?, etc., Please Please Me has been released in the awkward stereo format — instrumentation at the left, vocals panned right — that would have been available only to “a small number of hi-fi enthusiasts,” as the liner notes recall.
I had to chuckle to myself as I sat in the parking lot today, cellophane wrapper on the floor and new-CD smell filling my nostrils, as I imagined how exciting and fresh this format must have been at the time, a hint of what was to come in the not-so-distant future.
For the first time today, I too was excited to purchase a Beatles album. Each of my previous purchases of a Beatles record on CD left me feeling empty. Sure, the music was excellent — phenomenal and mind-altering, even — but the packaging has always been far too sparse, nothing more than the cheapest of cheap jewel cases and a one-fold booklet. The packaging of this 2009 remastered album makes it worth the purchase alone. There are reprinted liner notes, rare photos, and a mini-documentary that, although very brief (less than four minutes), includes entertaining footage and interesting narration from all four band members as well as George Martin.
The songs themselves sound as good as they ever have. The Beatles’ rapid ascent to pop music stardom becomes clear after hearing tracks like the energetic “I Saw Her Standing There,” the vocally superb “Please Please Me,” and George’s lead vocal debut “Do You Want to Know A Secret?”
As if these weren’t enough, the other Lennon/McCartney originals round out the set nicely — the classics “Love Me Do” and the lesser-known but equally catchy “Misery.”
Even the covers, like “Anna (Go To Him)” and “Twist and Shout,” shine almost as bright as Lennon/McCartney originals. Although I have always maintained that “A Taste of Honey” is disposable, it is interesting to hear the first instance of Paul’s double-tracked lead vocals on a recording.
Throughout this remastered album, as with the original release, the words that continually come to mind are “energetic” and “fun.” In all reality, the remastered tracks are merely cleaned up versions of the original mixes — the same as always with a sharper focus, so to speak.
If the past four decades are any indication, this may be the last overhaul of the Beatles catalog for a very long time. For those of us “hi-fi enthusiasts” in 2009, it seems a shame to go on for the foreseeable future without all the Beatles’ material — arguably the most essential albums and tracks of rock and pop music — in full, lush stereo sound, each vocal and instrument standing out.
And yet, even if you feel this way, the 2009 remaster of Please Please Me — with all its simplicity and raw energy — should provide nothing but pleasant listening and reading. And if you’re interested, make sure to check out all of our Beatles cover songs here on the Laptop Sessions acoustic cover songs music video blog!
Throughout Christmas in the Heart, Bob Dylan and his band are clearly enjoying themselves, embracing the timelessness of the Christmas music genre. More specifically, Dylan and company are transporting themselves and their listeners back to a simpler time of deceptively simple songs and sentiments.
Still, not every nostalgia-inducing feature is practiced or purposeful. For instance, that’s not static you hear on your compact disc or mp3 copy — that’s just Dylan’s voice.
Over the fifteen songs that comprise this new album, Dylan moves fluidly between the religious and the imaginative, from solemn, sacred hymns describing the birth of Jesus Christ to classic tunes about jolly old Saint Nicholas himself, Santa Claus.
Interestingly, this is the first time Dylan has included more than thirteen tracks on a studio release since 1970’s Self Portrait, the runner up being 1992’s Good As I Been To You, clocking in at thirteen tracks. Granted, these are not the most positive comparisons in his considerable catalog, but fortunately, the comparisons end at the track count.
Christmas in the Heart is a unified collection of songs that are unlike anything Dylan has recorded before, and yet they somehow fit perfectly with the material he has released in the past decade or so. Ever since the two albums of covers he released in 1992 and 1993, Dylan has seemingly been drawn to the sounds and styles of the past. 2001’s Love and Theft saw a wide variety of styles, and the songs on both Modern Times (2006) and this year’s Together Through Life have progressively relied on mid-20th century styles and arrangements.
In many ways, this is the most logical time for Dylan to contribute to the very American tradition of popular Christmas music.
Bob Dylan's "Christmas in the Heart" (2009)
I will admit that, upon a first listen, I was unimpressed. Bob Dylan fanatic that I am, the deterioration of his voice initially alienated me and I felt distanced from these classic compositions, most of which I had heard before in at least one or more arrangements.
“The Christmas Blues” is perhaps the most Dylan-esque of the tracks, especially when considering the predominance of recent Dylan tunes with blues structures, the harmonica solo, and the more serious, even downtrodden tone. In this song, his vocals are stretched and utilized to heartfelt effect.
As I listened a second and third time, the subtlety of these tracks began to set in. The lead guitar in “Do You Hear What I Hear?” that more than adequately takes the place of the typical “answer” vocal components, the choral background singers with spot-on, traditional harmonies, and the variations in Dylan’s vocals — the rough edges in “Little Drummer Boy” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the softened edges in “Christmas Island” — all contribute to what is largely a relaxing and entertaining record.
Is there a better description for a Christmas album?
What strikes me about Christmas in the Heart is the proof which it provides for the argument that this time of year is a special season, one which captivates the hearts and souls of men and women and inspires us to be better people. Certainly, if Bob Dylan put this much effort into not only a holiday album, but also a specifically Christmas-themed release, then there must be something to be said about the power of music influenced by the Christmas spirit.
Dylan, known for turning around and surprising even his most loyal fanbase, has done it again. It may not be as revolutionary as going electric, or as polarizing as songwriting from an explicitly born-again Christian perspective, but it is at least as dramatic a development in his career. Rarely has Dylan prepared such well-known cover songs for a studio release, much less songs with such a concrete set of lyrics and straightforward message.
If nothing else, this album will provide some interesting fodder for the ongoing “Is he Christian?/Is he Jewish?” debate that continues to rage on…
For me, Christmas in the Heart is a clear reminder of the universal qualities of the Christmas spirit. It is an album that further diversifies Dylan’s hand in American popular music, and likewise carries the torch for another generation to hear and appreciate a style that originated almost six decades ago.
All in all, Christmas in the Heart would make for a strong addition to any pop/rock music fan’s Christmas album collection.
