They came to the attention of Father Reinard Beaver who encouraged them to come with him to New York the following summer when he went to attend Army Chaplain school. They did a few spontaneous performances along the way to supplement the approx. $300 they had set out with between them.
By the time they were supposed to head back to Gonzaga, the trio had an audition for Arthur Godfrey and were getting ready to record an album (The Chad Mitchell Trio Arrives).
The following summer Mike Pugh decided he wanted to leave the group. After auditioning many people, they decided on Joe Frazier as Pugh's replacement. By Thanksgiving they were booked on The Pat Boone Show. Soon they were performing at Carnegie Hall with Harry Belafonte, Miriam Makeba and Odetta.
Chad left to pursue a solo career in 1965 and was replaced by John Denver and the group was redubbed The Mitchell Trio (no "Chad"). When Joe Frazier left, he was replaced by David Boise. In 1968, the last original member Mike Kobluk left the group. His replacement was Michael Johnson and due to the terms of the contract, the "Mitchell" name had to go. The new group was called simply Denver, Boise and Johnson.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Chad Mitchell Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The time is the present, 1963, and imagine, if you will, a scene
in West Germany where my friends and I are having a little party.
It's quite a private party, we're celebrating the coming holiday
season, Christmas, and the new year.
On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the third day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the fourth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Four top Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the fifth day of Christmas
My true love said to me
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the sixth day of Christmas
We received from Israel
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the seventh day of Christmas
The US sent us free
Seven more million dollars
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the eighth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A Telefunken H-Bomb
A Telefunken H-Bomb? Ja, a Telefunken H-Bomb.
Let me show you this Telefunken H-Bomb.
It looks just like an ordinary Telefunken Radio.
Except when you're trying to get England,
YOU'RE TRYING TO GET ENGLAND!
Seven million dollars
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the ninth day of Christmas
We heard officially
They got the wrong Eichmann
Telefunken H-Bomb
Seven million dollars
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the tenth day of Christmas
Long Island sent us free
Ten swastika scribblers
Got the wrong Eichmann
Telefunken H-Bomb
Seven million dollars
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the eleventh day of Christmas
We heard officially:
"Monocles are back!"
Ten swastika scribblers
Got the wrong Eichmann
Telefunken H-Bomb
Seven million dollars
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear tree
On the twelfth day of Christmas
They told all Germany:
"HE is still alive."
Monocles are back
Ten swastika scribblers
Telefunken H-Bomb
Seven million dollars
Six guided missiles
To Hell with Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Three anti-semites
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
And a partridge in a pear - Merry Christmas, everybody - tree
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Chad Mitchell Trio is a satirical lyrics version of the traditional English Christmas carol. The song was released in 1963 during the height of the Cold War and reflects the political tensions of the time. The song is set in West Germany during a holiday party atmosphere, where the singer is being showered by gifts from their "true love." These gifts, however, are not the conventional holiday presents, rather a shocking revelation of the political and social tumult of the time. The partridge in a pear tree represents the beginning of the song and is a symbol of peace, while the subsequent gifts are a sign of increasing chaos as the song progresses.
The gifts in the song are significant and are a representation of the political tensions of the time. The song mentions Rudolf Hess, who was Adolf Hitler's deputy, as someone whose blessings were bestowed upon the singer. It also mentions anti-Semites, top Gestapo leaders, and the wrong Eichmann. There are mentions of Israel and their gift of six guided missiles and the US's gift of seven million dollars. There's also a reference to a Telefunken radio disguised as a Telefunken H-bomb gifted by the true love. The lyrics of the song end with the chilling revelation that "He" lives, leaving the listeners guessing as to who "He" represents.
Line by Line Meaning
On the first day of Christmas
The first day of the Christmas season
My true love gave to me
I received a gift from my significant other
A partridge in a pear tree
A bird sitting in a pear tree
On the second day of Christmas
The second day of the Christmas season
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
A former Nazi official's well wishes
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird in a pear tree
On the third day of Christmas
The third day of the Christmas season
Three anti-semites
Three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
More well wishes from a former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird in a pear tree
On the fourth day of Christmas
The fourth day of the Christmas season
Four top Gestapo leaders
Four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
More well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird in a pear tree
On the fifth day of Christmas
The fifth day of the Christmas season
My true love said to me
My significant other said to me
To Hell with Adenauer
A statement of disapproval towards the German chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
More well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird in a pear tree
On the sixth day of Christmas
The sixth day of the Christmas season
We received from Israel
We got a gift from Israel
Six guided missiles
Six missiles with a guidance system
To Hell with Adenauer
Further disapproval of the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
More well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird in a pear tree, still there
On the seventh day of Christmas
The seventh day of the Christmas season
The US sent us free
The US gave us something without charge
Seven more million dollars
Seven million dollars more than they previously gave us
Six guided missiles
Still six missiles with guidance systems
To Hell with Adenauer
Ongoing disapproval of the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
Still wishes of goodwill from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird in a pear tree
On the eighth day of Christmas
The eighth day of the Christmas season
My true love gave to me
Another gift from my significant other
A Telefunken H-Bomb
A radio that doubles as a hydrogen bomb
Seven million dollars
Still the same amount of money as before
Six guided missiles
Still six missiles with guidance systems
To Hell with Adenauer
Continued disapproval of the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
Still well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Yet another bird in the same old pear tree
On the ninth day of Christmas
The ninth day of the Christmas season
We heard officially
We were informed by an official source
They got the wrong Eichmann
A statement that the wrong person was caught for war crimes
Telefunken H-Bomb
Still a radio that doubles as a hydrogen bomb
Seven million dollars
Still the same amount of money as before
Six guided missiles
Still six missiles with guidance systems
To Hell with Adenauer
Continued disapproval of the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
Still well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Yet another bird and pear tree, this is getting boring
On the tenth day of Christmas
The tenth day of the Christmas season
Long Island sent us free
A gift was sent from Long Island without cost
Ten swastika scribblers
Ten people who drew swastikas
Got the wrong Eichmann
Still commenting on someone being wrongly accused of war crimes
Telefunken H-Bomb
Still a radio that doubles as a hydrogen bomb
Seven million dollars
Still seven million dollars from the US
Six guided missiles
Still six missiles with guidance systems
To Hell with Adenauer
Still disliking the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
Still more well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Another bird and pear tree, surprise, surprise
On the eleventh day of Christmas
The eleventh day of the Christmas season
We heard officially:
More official news for us to hear
"Monocles are back!"
A fashion trend was revived
Ten swastika scribblers
Still ten people who drew swastikas
Got the wrong Eichmann
Still commenting on someone being wrongly accused of war crimes
Telefunken H-Bomb
The same old radio that doubles as a hydrogen bomb
Seven million dollars
Still seven million dollars given to us by the US
Six guided missiles
Still six missiles with guidance systems
To Hell with Adenauer
Continued disapproval of the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
Still more well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear tree
Yet another bird and pear tree, nothing new here
On the twelfth day of Christmas
The twelfth and final day of the Christmas season
They told all Germany:
Everyone in Germany was informed
"HE is still alive."
A reference to someone's survival or continued existence
Monocles are back
The revival of a fashion trend is still relevant
Ten swastika scribblers
Still ten people who drew swastikas
Telefunken H-Bomb
Still a radio that doubles as a hydrogen bomb
Seven million dollars
The US gave us seven million dollars, yet again
Six guided missiles
Still six missiles with guidance systems
To Hell with Adenauer
Still showing disapproval towards the German chancellor
Four Gestapo leaders
Still four high-ranking members of the Nazi secret police
Three anti-semites
Still three people who hate Jewish people
Rudolf Hess’s blessings
Still more well wishes from the former Nazi official
And a partridge in a pear - Merry Christmas, everybody - tree
Finally, the end of the song, and a holiday greeting
Contributed by Alexis J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.