Gleason could not read or write music in a conventional sense; he was said to have conceived melodies in his head and described them vocally to staff help. He did likewise with the well-remembered themes of both The Jackie Gleason Show ("Melancholy Serenade") and The Honeymooners ("You're My Greatest Love"). There has been some controversy over the years as to how much credit Gleason should have received for the finished products; it has been written that beyond the possible conceptualizing of many of the songs, Gleason had no direct involvement such as conducting in the making of these recordings. However, his main musical companion, cornetist and trumpeter Bobby Hackett once said: "Jackie knows a lot more about music than people give him credit for. I have seen him conduct a sixty-piece orchestra and detect one discordant note in the brass section. He would immediately stop the music and locate the wrong note. It always amazed the professional musicians how a guy who technically did not know one note from another could do that. And he was never wrong."
Born February 26, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He died on June 24, 1987
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Jackie Gleason Lyrics
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Underneath the mistletoe last night.
She didn't see me creep
Down the stairs to have a peep;
She thought that I was tucked
Up in my bedroom fast asleep.
Then, I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.
The lyrics to the classic Christmas song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” have a playful tone, but there are deeper interpretations that lie beneath it. The song is about a child who catches his or her mother kissing Santa Claus under the mistletoe. This can be seen as a metaphor for the child realizing that their parents have a playful, child-like sense of romance in their relationship, and that there is still love and affection there.
The child who sings the song is able to witness a moment of intimacy between their parents that they wouldn’t normally get to see. The act of “peeking” down the stairs and spying on their parents is a common childhood experience, but in this case, it allows the child to see a side of their parents that they may have not been aware of before. It’s almost as if the child is in on an inside joke, aware of something that the adults around them don’t know.
The song also touches on the theme of infidelity, but in a playful and innocent way. The child knows that their mother is kissing Santa Claus, but they don’t yet understand that Santa Claus is simply a symbolic figure for the holiday season. The mother may be kissing someone who is dressed up as Santa Claus, but the child doesn’t know the difference. It’s a reminder that as children, we often see the world in a different way than adults do, and that our interpretation of events can be skewed by our lack of experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
I witnessed my mother embracing a man dressed as Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night
It happened under a decorative plant hung at Christmastime
She didn't see me creep
My mother was unaware of my presence
Down the stairs to have a peep;
I descended the staircase to get a better look
She thought that I was tucked
It was my mother's assumption that I was asleep in my bedroom
Up in my bedroom fast asleep.
My mother presumed I was sound asleep in my own room
Then, I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus
I observed my mother playfully touching the man dressed as Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white;
She was tickling him on the chin beneath his white facial hair
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
It would have been humorous if my father had seen what I witnessed
If Daddy had only seen
The father's lack of observation led to the potential missed humor
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night.
My mother was intimately engaging with a man dressed as Santa Claus during the night prior
Lyrics © REGENT MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Tommie Connor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind