Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Alvin & The Chipmunks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen,
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names;
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in history!"
The first stanza of the song Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer mentions all of Santa's eight reindeer by name except Rudolph. The stanzas are written in a simple and repetitive ABCB rhyming scheme that is easy for children to learn and sing along to. The lyrics introduce the idea that there is one special reindeer, Rudolph, and that he is different from the rest of the reindeer because of his red, glowing nose. The second stanza gives more information about Rudolph's unique feature and implies that it was the source of both ridicule and amazement for the other reindeer. The third stanza describes Rudolph's transformation from outcast to hero, when Santa Claus recognized the usefulness of his shining nose and chose him to lead the sleigh through a foggy Christmas Eve. Finally, the fourth stanza reinforces Rudolph's newly gained popularity, as the other reindeer express their admiration and congratulate him on his historic achievement.
The lyrics of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer are based on a story written by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939. The story was created as a promotional gimmick and distributed as a free booklet to customers at Christmas time. May's story was an instant success, and Rudolph became one of the most popular Christmas characters in American culture. The song was later written by Johnny Marks, May's brother-in-law, and first recorded by Gene Autry in 1949. Since then, the song has been covered by countless artists and remains a Christmas staple around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
You're familiar with the reindeers that pull Santa's sleigh such as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, and Vixen
Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen,
You're also aware of other reindeers like Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen
But do you recall
But do you remember
The most famous reindeer of all?
The most popular and well-known reindeer of all time?
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
A reindeer named Rudolph with a bright red nose
Had a very shiny nose,
His nose was extremely glossy,
And if you ever saw it,
If you ever saw Rudolph's nose,
You would even say it glows.
You would even say it shines and glistens,
All of the other reindeer
Every other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names;
Used to make fun of Rudolph and call him degrading names
They never let poor Rudolph
The other reindeers would never let Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games.
Play any games that the reindeers liked to play.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Then on one Christmas Eve filled with fog,
Santa came to say:
Santa appeared and said:
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright,
"Rudolph, with your shiny and radiant nose,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Can you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him,
After Rudolph helped Santa on that foggy Christmas Eve,
As they shouted out with glee,
They expressed excessive joy,
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
"Rudolph, the reindeer with the bright red nose,
You'll go down in history!"
You'll always be remembered in history!"
Lyrics © Roba Music Verlag GMBH, ST. NICHOLAS MUSIC INC., Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Johnny Marks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind