Sherman was just a television producer, most famous for the quiz show "I've Got a Secret," not at all known as a comedian or performer, and it shocked everyone in the know when songs from his album My Son, The Folk Singer became popular. In fact, president John F. Kennedy was heard singing the song Sarah Jackman. Sherman's overnight popularity suddenly ended when the nation's attention focused on Kennedy's assassination, and the nation was too sad for such up-beat musical offerings.
Sherman then slipped back into his longtime depression, and died, quietly, at the young age of 48.
The Twelve Gifts of Christmas
Allan Sherman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A Japanese transistor radio.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(It's a Nakashuma.)
A calendar book with the name of my insurance man,
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(It's the Mark IV model. That's the one that's discontinued.)
On the fourth day Of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A simulated alligator wallet,
A calendar book with the name of my insurance man,
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(And it comes in a leatherette case with holes in it, so you can listen right through the case.)
On the fifth fay of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A statue of a naked lady, with a clock where her stomach ought to be,
A simulated alligator wallet,
A calendar book wiuth the name of my insurance man,
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(And it has a wire with thing on one end that you can stick right in your ear, and a thing on the other end that you can't stck anywhere, because it's bent)
On the sixth day of Christmas, my treue love gave to me
A hammered aluminum nutcracker,
And all that other stuff,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A pink satin pillow that says San Diego, with fringe all around it,
And all that other stuff,
And a Japanese radio.
On the eight day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
An indoor plastic birdbath,
And all that other stuff,
And a Japanese transistor radio,
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A pair of teakwood shower clogs,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A chromium combination manicure scissors and cigarette lighter,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
An automatic vegetable slicer that works when to see it on television, but not when you get it home,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
On the twelth day of Christmas, although it may seem strange,
On the twelth day of Christmas, I'm going to exchange:
An automatic vegetable slicer that works when you see it on television, but not when you get it home,
A chromium combination manicure scissors and cigarette lighter,
A pair of teakwood shower clogs,
An indoor plastic birdbath,
A pink satin pillow that says San Diego, with fringe all around it,
A hammered aluminum nutcracker,
A statue of naked lady, with a clock where her stomach ought to be,
A simulated alligator wallet,
A calendar book with the name of my insurance man.
Green polka-dot pajaas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
Merry Christmas Everybody!
The Twelve Gifts of Christmas is a comedic parody of the traditional 12 Days of Christmas song. Instead of receiving gifts that are joyful and exciting, the singer's true love gives them strange and impractical gifts that get more bizarre with each passing day. The first gift is a Japanese transistor radio, which is the most practical of all the gifts. The second day includes green polka-dot pajamas and the same Japanese transistor radio, but with the added detail that it's a Nakashuma brand. The third day adds a calendar book with the name of the singer's insurance man, and the same two gifts from the first two days. The fourth day throws in a simulated alligator wallet, the same calendar book with the insurance man's name, green polka-dot pajamas, and the same Japanese transistor radio, which now comes in a leatherette case with holes so you can listen through it.
Line by Line Meaning
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A Japanese transistor radio.
My true love gave me a Japanese transistor radio on the first day of Christmas.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(It's a Nakashuma.)
My true love gave me green polka-dot pajamas and a Nakashuma Japanese transistor radio on the second day of Christmas.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A calendar book with the name of my insurance man,
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(It's the Mark IV model. That's the one that's discontinued.)
My true love gave me a calendar book with the name of my insurance man, green polka-dot pajamas, and a discontinued Mark IV model Japanese transistor radio on the third day of Christmas.
On the fourth day Of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A simulated alligator wallet,
A calendar book with the name of my insurance man,
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(And it comes in a leatherette case with holes in it, so you can listen right through the case.)
My true love gave me a simulated alligator wallet, a calendar book with the name of my insurance man, green polka-dot pajamas, and a Japanese transistor radio that comes in a leatherette case with holes to listen through on the fourth day of Christmas.
On the fifth fay of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A statue of a naked lady, with a clock where her stomach ought to be,
A simulated alligator wallet,
A calendar book wiuth the name of my insurance man,
Green polka-dot pajamas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
(And it has a wire with thing on one end that you can stick right in your ear, and a thing on the other end that you can't stck anywhere, because it's bent)
My true love gave me a statue of a naked lady with a clock where its stomach ought to be, a simulated alligator wallet, a calendar book with the name of my insurance man, green polka-dot pajamas, and a Japanese transistor radio that has a bent wire you can stick in your ear on the fifth day of Christmas.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my treue love gave to me
A hammered aluminum nutcracker,
And all that other stuff,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
My true love gave me a hammered aluminum nutcracker, all the other stuff, and a Japanese transistor radio on the sixth day of Christmas.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A pink satin pillow that says San Diego, with fringe all around it,
And all that other stuff,
And a Japanese radio.
My true love gave me a pink satin pillow that says San Diego with fringe, all the other stuff, and a Japanese radio on the seventh day of Christmas.
On the eight day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
An indoor plastic birdbath,
And all that other stuff,
And a Japanese transistor radio,
My true love gave me an indoor plastic birdbath, all the other stuff, and a Japanese transistor radio on the eighth day of Christmas.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A pair of teakwood shower clogs,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
My true love gave me a pair of teakwood shower clogs and a Japanese transistor radio on the ninth day of Christmas.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A chromium combination manicure scissors and cigarette lighter,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
My true love gave me chromium combination manicure scissors and a cigarette lighter, and a Japanese transistor radio on the tenth day of Christmas.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
An automatic vegetable slicer that works when to see it on television, but not when you get it home,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
My true love gave me an automatic vegetable slicer that only works on TV and a Japanese transistor radio on the eleventh day of Christmas.
On the twelth day of Christmas, although it may seem strange,
On the twelth day of Christmas, I'm going to exchange:
An automatic vegetable slicer that works when you see it on television, but not when you get it home,
A chromium combination manicure scissors and cigarette lighter,
A pair of teakwood shower clogs,
An indoor plastic birdbath,
A pink satin pillow that says San Diego, with fringe all around it,
A hammered aluminum nutcracker,
A statue of naked lady, with a clock where her stomach ought to be,
A simulated alligator wallet,
A calendar book with the name of my insurance man.
Green polka-dot pajaas,
And a Japanese transistor radio.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, although it may seem strange, I'm going to exchange all the weird gifts that my true love gave me, including the automatic vegetable slicer, chromium combination manicure scissors and cigarette lighter, pair of teakwood shower clogs, indoor plastic birdbath, pink satin pillow with fringe, hammered aluminum nutcracker, statue of naked lady with a clock, simulated alligator wallet, calendar book with my insurance man's name, green polka-dot pajamas, and a Japanese transistor radio.
Lyrics © TUNECORE INC
Written by: ALLAN SHERMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jaynies1132
I had a friend who worked at Woolworth's back in the early '90s. He heard this song and said, "We sell all of this!"
@april1969simnel
The way he goes on about the radio cracks me up every time.
@aprilshowers6504
Me, too! I doesn't matter how many times I hear it, I laugh every time. :)
@christophercumming7426
Same here it cracks me up to I love it
@paulhall170
A truly funny man, I remember this when it was first released, still as funny fifty years later...
@aprilshowers6504
I agree! And the first time I heard it, it was on a transistor radio and I recorded it on a cassette tape!
@lynncrowell4502
Love this so much! And the visuals are PERFECT. Thank you so much.
@aprilshowers6504
Thank you! This one was a lot of work, but I loved every second of it. I appreciate your comment.
@grimTales1
"And a Japanese transistor radioooo...." Brilliant :D
@aprilshowers6504
Still cracks me up after all these years!! :D