Lexington, KY, native Elmo Shropshire is better known as Dr. Elmo, the whim… Read Full Bio ↴Lexington, KY, native Elmo Shropshire is better known as Dr. Elmo, the whimsical character who has sold more than eleven million copies of the holiday novelty song 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.'

After earning a veterinary medicine degree at Auburn University, Dr. Elmo was a veterinarian at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga racetracks in New York. He later moved to San Francisco's Bay Area to open his own animal hospital and while moonlighting playing festivals and clubs in a bluegrass band.

In 1979, he introduced 'Grandma' on a San Francisco radio station. It quickly became a regional hit, and the Elmo began playing more holiday gigs around town to support the single. When an activist group, dubbed the Gray Panthers, accused the duo of playing 'ageist music' and showed up to picket one of their shows, the media came out in force, drawing the attention of major labels.

In 1983, MTV began airing the self financed video. A year later their Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer album appeared on Epic and a new 'Grandma' single was released, this time with 'Percy, the Puny Poinsettia' as the B-side.

Dr. Elmo released Twisted Tunes in 1991. Numerous holiday albums would follow, with Dr. Elmo releasing his own Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer album in 2002 on SonyBMG. Dr. Elmo added a Halloween hit to his repertoire in 2006 with the title track to his Redneck Dracula album. In 2007 he released Redneck Santa, in 2009 he released Wild Bluegrass with his band Dr. Elmo & Wild Blue. In 2010 Time Life releases Dr. Elmo's Bluegrass Christmas . Most of Dr. Elmo's songs are co-written by Rita Abrams. Pop historians might remember Rita as the Miss Abrams in Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class, the act behind the 1972 hit 'Mill Valley.'
Dr. Elmo currently tours with his bluegrass band, Wild Blue and each holiday season he conducts a media and concert tour in conjunction with the "Grandma" song.

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer
Elmo & Patsy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

You know there's Dasher and Dancer
Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid

Donner 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 him,
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 all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee,

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll go down in history!

Overall Meaning

The song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" tells the story of the titular character, a reindeer with a shiny red nose, who is initially laughed at and excluded by his peers but later becomes a hero after Santa asks him to guide his sleigh on a foggy Christmas Eve. The song opens with a description of Rudolph's nose, which is said to be so shiny that it glows brightly. The chorus repeats this description, suggesting that Rudolph's nose is his defining characteristic.

The song then lists the names of the other reindeer, emphasizing that Rudolph is not among their ranks. This serves to further establish Rudolph as an outsider, reinforcing the song's central theme of exclusion and the desire to belong. The famous line "But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?" serves as a rhetorical question, highlighting the fact that despite Rudolph's initial lack of popularity, he ultimately becomes the most well-known and beloved of all the reindeer.

Line by Line Meaning

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer
Introducing Rudolph, the reindeer with a red nose.

had a very shiny nose.
Rudolph has an exceptionally bright red nose.

And if you ever saw him,
If you ever saw Rudolph,

you would even say it glows.
his nose would be gleaming.

You know there's Dasher and Dancer
You know there are other reindeer with names like Dasher and Dancer,

Prancer and Vixen
as well as Prancer and Vixen,

Comet and Cupid
Comet and Cupid

Donner and Blitzen
and Donner and Blitzen too

But do you recall
Do you recall,

The most famous reindeer of all?
the most famous reindeer of all, Rudolph?

All of the other reindeer
All the other reindeer,